919: Earth's Mightiest Heroes (Version II)
by Reborn Dark Phoenix
Summary: On Hiatus until further notice. See most recent update.
1. Assemble! Part 1

_**Disclaimer: Are recognizable characters are trademark property of Marvel Comics, unless specified otherwise. All plot lines are inspired by Marvel Comics plot lines unless specified otherwise.**_

* * *

Prologue

* * *

I am Uatu, the Watcher.

It is my duty to observe the course of all existence on Earth, but never interfere with it. It is a task shared by my brethren across the universe, and even the multiverse. I am to simply watch events unfold, but I have already broken my vow of non-interference on a small number of occasions.

I have taken a…likeness to the Earth.

But today, an event of cataclysmic proportions rises in the human city of New York. A madman makes a stand for power, to rule mankind. I ponder if I should intervene here as well, but I soon see that there is no need for me to do so.

For today…is a day unlike any other the Earth has seen.

* * *

 **REBORN DARK PHOENIX**

 **PROUDLY REPRESENTS:**

 **919: EARTH'S MIGHTIEST HEROES**

* * *

Chapter 1: Assemble! Part 1

* * *

 ***The Raft, 1 of 6 SHIELD superhuman prisons located worldwide. Five miles west of New York City***

 **0933 GMT/2:33 PM EST, 4 May 2012**

* * *

"I'm assuming that everything is ready for the transport?"

"Yes. It is."

Two men walked down the reinforced halls of the Raft, leaving the prisoner sectors behind them, one slightly trailing behind the other. The first was a gray haired man in his mid-fifties, while still in good physical shape, wearing attire suited for a four star United States general, the name "Ross" on the tag under his medals. The second was a brunette man in his mid-thirties wearing a crisp formal suit and tie, his firearm hidden under his suit and a pair of sunglasses in his front pocket.

"You're making a very big mistake, General Ross," SHIELD Agent Phil Coulson said a minute later. "What you are hoping to do it going to backfire on you completely, I guarantee it. Director Fury has made it very clear that he is against you having custody of the man, and after the last incident with the US Army in Culver University-"

"Agent Coulson," General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross interrupted with anger as he turned around, looking at Coulson. "No matter how much you try to convince me otherwise, I am not changing my mind. The Hulk's blood is property of the United States military, as is Banner's work. I don't care what you or Fury or SHIELD thinks on the matter; the World Security Council OK'd the request that we retake custody, so you can cancel your little plans to transfer him to the Cube or whatever it is you have planned. I am taking him, and that is final. End of discussion."

Phil Coulson kept his cool, maintaining his passive expression. "Experimenting on the Hulk, his gamma energy and on his blood is very dangerous," he said. "You've seen what's in the Cube, the psychopaths that have been created by radiation exposure and the like: Leader, Madman, the U-Foes, Zzzax…there are many other, mind you. A few of which, I should remind you, are results of your previous failed attempts to weaponize Dr. Banner's Hulk formula."

"Simple mistakes," Ross retorted.

"In which numerous people lost their lives," Coulson countered. "Each being a case in which there would have been possibly more casualties had it not been _for_ the Hulk."

"The Hulk is a monster, Agent Coulson," the general replied as he continued walking down the halls, Coulson following him. "A monster that threatens lives, society and has been responsible for millions of dollars' worth of property in the country. Not to mention the damages and costs across the planet."

"Because your HulkBusters Corps never caused any damages either," Coulson replied with a dry chuckle, ignoring Ross's facial response. "But let me get this straight: you see what the Hulk has done, saying he's a destructive force and you want to replicate the process that created that?"

"The military potential locked in the Hulk's DNA is something that the American Armed Forces is not going to just throw away."

"I fail to understand why the United States would want such kind of power, knowing full well that there are many enemies of the nation out there that would see this as a very big threat. It's bad enough that you still have Project: Rebirth up and running."

Ross was silent for several moments as the two continued down the halls. "...I guess it's no surprise that Fury knows about that."

"After several failed attempts across the world to replicate the Iron Man armor, we tend to keep track of these sorts of things," Coulson replied.

"America is looking to build the next generation of soldiers, the super soldier. With Abraham Erskine's work lost to us, and the loss of Captain America in World War II, reactivating Project: Rebirth is our best choice, with our best scientists and biologists working around the clock. After what we discovered with gamma radiation, after the Hulk was created...well, having soldiers with even a fraction of that kind of power is something we can't afford not to have."

"Making your own private army of super-soldiers? Explain again the difference between what your actions and those of the likes of HYDRA and Leviathan?"

"How do you think we plan to fight the likes of them? We're thankful for what SHIELD does for the world, don't get me wrong, but the United States of America can't always rely on outside factors for our security. We need to be able to defend yourself from all these threats out there."

"So what do I tell Betty?"

At this, Ross stopped in his tracks, turning back towards Coulson. "What?"

"Betty Ross, your daughter?" Coulson replied. "She's been visiting Dr. Banner here for the last few days since he arrived on the Raft. She's currently staying in New York, and she is scheduled to arrive for another visit any minute now. Hell, she probably arrived, on her way to Banner's old cell. Would you like to speak to her instead when she finds out you're taking him away again?"

"Betty…she's confused," Ross said after several moments. "She thinks that it's never the Hulk's fault…but she doesn't know better; she still believes that there is a way for the Hulk to do some good for mankind, and that it's not being a guinea pig for our boys in the labs."

"Smart woman," Coulson smirked. At this, Ross frowned darkly.

Within a few minutes, the two men were greeted with fresh ocean air as they reached the exit to the outside aircraft deck. Three SHIELD VTOL F-88 carrier fighters were parked and stationed, and a dozen heavily armed SHIELD agents were also standing at the ready. Also on the deck was a USAF Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey, three USAF UH-60 Black Hawks and two dozen HulkBusters soldiers.

"You certainly never hesitate to make a show," Coulson mused as he put on his shades.

"Agent Coulson!"

The voice that echoed behind them was familiar to both Coulson and Ross, more so for the latter. The two men turned to see a woman in her mid-thirties, with brunette hair and wearing a white sweater and black jeans, running up to them. Behind her, three SHIELD agents raced after her.

"We tried to stop her, Agent Coulson," one shouted as she and the SHIELD agents caught up to Coulson and Ross. "But she insisted-!"

"It's alright, agents," Coulson reassured. "Ms. Ross, I can only assume you found out what's going on today?"

"Yes I did," Betty Ross replied before turning to her father. "Why, Dad? Can't you just leave him alone?! You can't do this!"

"You still don't get it, do you?" Ross replied, narrowing his eyes. "This is my job, and not you or Coulson here or anyone else will change this. Think what you want about him, but we're taking the Hulk, and that's final."

Betty Ross had endured this for years, since 2003, ever since Bruce had been bombarded with gamma radiation and transformed into what many on Earth deemed as a monster. She loved Bruce regardless, however, and always would. Yet her father was hell bent on killing him, or using him for his own purposes. It sickened her to her core that all he saw in Bruce was a weapons secret.

"Prisoner Transfer in progress. Protocol R1-34, effective immediately. Flight deck secured; all necessary agents on standby."

At the voice in the intercoms, two large metal gates that served as entry points from the aircraft deck to the rest of the prison opened again. A truck-sized mobile prisoner holding pen came out, accompanied by several SHIELD agents and several HulkBusters. On each side, there was a sizeable viewing glass, and Coulson and Betty could easily see the man in his mid-thirties inside, his unkempt brown hair and slender but fit figure clothed in orange prison clothes. At this, Betty gasped and bit back a sob.

Dr. Bruce Banner, the man known as the Incredible Hulk, looked at them and tried to give Betty a smile.

"Is he sedated?" Ross called out to his men as the HulkBusters soldiers secured the pen.

"Yes, sir," one replied. "He's not Hulking out anytime soon."

"Perfect," the general nodded. "Alright, load him up and get the engines started. We head out to Los Diablos Gamma Facility immediately!" Ross started walking off to the transport, mumbling, "Last thing we need is for him to get angry on the ride."

"A bit late for that, General," Coulson smirked, causing the general to turn to him.

"Meaning?"

"Banner there…he's always angry; he's just learned to control it."

* * *

 ***Embassy of Wakanda to the United Nations. Tribeca, Manhattan, New York City***

 **0938 GMT/2:38 PM EST, 4 May 2012**

* * *

King T'Challa of Wakanda was both utterly bored and annoyed.

Taking another sip of his herbal tea, the monarch spared the man before him another glance. In all honesty, this American bored him to death. He was again reminded of the reason why he, his father, his grandfather and all the other Black Panther kings before him had preferred to keep Wakanda in constant isolation from the rest of the world. Most foreigners were simply greedy and selfish, and Wakanda had many resources that the rest of the world, including the American government, would love to get their hands on. Particularly, the Vibranium his people so closely guarded. It had benefited Wakanda for millennia, and the nation had prospered and advanced beyond imagination.

Of course, America would want to enjoy some of those benefits…and more so the military properties of Vibranium.

"As I said earlier," the man continued, "the American government is willing to trade whatever it is you desire for a supply of Vibranium. Weapons, vehicles, medicine, Sentinels, oil, energy, you name it. We are also willing to deliver a very suitable price if your Majesty so desires, instead. Just name it, and I'm sure a deal can be-"

"Mr. Gyrich," T'Challa interrupted, setting his tea down and looking the US ambassador-potential in the eye. "My people have no need of any of the things you have just mentioned and wish to offer to Wakanda. We are a self-sufficient people who are very capable, thank you very much. As I have said to various other heads of state and their representatives, I am not interested in giving the world access to Vibranium, and that goes for the United States as well."

"Your Majesty," Henry Peter Gyrich continued, not ready to surrender this battle. "You're missing out on an opportunity to create a whole new global market here. The United States can help you with-"

"My decision is final," T'Challa said, standing up. "There is no deal, end of conversation."

"Your Majesty, you must reconsider this," Gyrich replied.

"I don't see why," the Wakandan monarch retorted, raising an eyebrow. "As my father said before his...untimely death, it'd be quite irresponsible to give the modernized nations in particular access to Vibranium. The Vibranium belongs to Wakanda, so I think I can do with it as I please, which includes not allowing you any access."

He then motioned to the guards. "Please see Mr. Gyrich to the exit," he said, and with that, the guards escorted Gyrich out of the Wakandan Embassy. Once the door to the conference balcony shut, T'Challa sighed, picking up his herbal tea and walked across the meeting room out to the patio outside. Watching the traffic on the busy streets of Manhattan below, it wasn't long before he heard the door open again.

"I trust my King remained firm in his standing?" an elderly voice mused.

T'Challa smirked and turned to see the Wakandan Royal Advisor/Shaman standing a few feet behind him, his staff in hand and his traditional Wakandan attire on, as did the monarch. "T'Challa," the elderly man continued, "perhaps it is time to return to Wakanda. These outsiders have wasted enough of your time as it is. With war with the White Gorilla tribes looming close, your duties as King must-"

"My father always believed that the outside world had nothing to offer," T'Challa interrupted, pulling out the Panther mask that he inherited by birthright. "He believed that the world outside of Wakanda would never give anything of value to our people. Do you know he was wrong?"

"My King?"

"It has given me…perspective…experience," the monarch continued as he pulled the mask over his face, never taking his gaze off the streets below. "It has given me a new way to see the world. And sometimes I wonder…why do these people suffer and do nothing about it? Corporations exploit disease and poverty for profit, and corruption runs rampant across governments. And entire populations do nothing about their woes. Was it wise for me to end Wakanda's isolation, so it could be exposed to this? Or…can Wakanda maybe show the rest of the world how to finally find peace and prosperity?"

"That is something you must answer with your actions, my-oh…" the elderly man said suddenly, his hand going for his head as he rubbed it.

"My old friend," T'Challa said as he instantly went to his aide's side. "What is it?"

"I sense…very dark magic energy in the city…something…or someone is preparing to invoke powerful magics…"

"Dark magics?" This was a matter of concern for T'Challa. "Perhaps Stephen Strange is at work...or could it not be the Sorcerer Supreme?"

"No, my King, not from this distance. The Sorcerer's magics have never reached such levels of distance from Haiti unless there be dire circumstances. It cannot be Strange; he has sworn himself away from such arts. This is different…far more different…"

* * *

 ***Armory Workshop, Penthouse Levels, Stark Tower. Midtown, Manhattan, New York City***

 **0938 GMT/2:38 PM EST, 4 May 2012**

* * *

"Tony, are you up here?"

A beautiful redheaded woman in her late thirties was climbing up the stairs to the Stark Tower penthouse levels, searching for her boss/lover. Virginia "Pepper" Potts easily guessed that if Tony Stark wasn't anywhere else in the tower that was the global headquarters of Stark Industries, he'd definitely be up here, in his armory/workshop. Tony had said he was working on another suit these last two months, and he seemed pretty excited about this one. He had taken to spending nights in his workshop, sometimes pulling off all-nighters. Unfortunately, not only did this piss off the Board of the company when he fell asleep at meetings, but it would piss her off too due to the fact that she would more times than not end up going to bed alone.

"JARVIS, is Tony up here?" Pepper asked Stark's AI butler as she neared the top of the stairs.

'Yes he is, Miss Potts,' a British accented synthetic voice replied. 'However, I would advise you to avoid the top of the stairway for a few moments."

Pepper arched her eyebrows in confusion. "Why?"

 **SCREAOOWWWWMMM! BOOOMMM!**

'That is why, Miss Potts.'

Pepper stood back up straight from instinctively crouching down from the sounds of explosions. At the top of the stairs, where a highly thick wall had been, only a gaping and smoking hole remained, courtesy of a repulsor blast. Upon reaching the top of the stairs, Pepper saw that the glass doors to Tony's workshop were also shattered, and she could see the billionaire whooping for joy, a black and yellow armored gauntlet covering his left hand. At this sight, Pepper smirked affectionately.

"I take it the Mark 22 works?" Pepper chuckled as she sauntered over to where Stark was standing.

"Best model yet," the forty year old man smirked as he took her into his hand & gauntlet and softly kissed her. "Standard armor capabilities, extra features from other armors and (my personal favorite feature) it can come to me at will, thanks to these new microchip implants." Removing the gauntlet from his arm, Stark set it back on his workshop table and turned back to Pepper. "Wanna see it in action? I need to give it a test run anyways and-"

"Do that later," the redhead pouted. "I haven't seen you all day. We need to catch up some…"

"But…the armor…"

"Well, if you don't want to spend a nice, good while with me, you can go to that board meeting that starts in…I don't know, 30 minutes ago?" There was no board meeting today, but it caught Stark's mind, alright.

"JARVIS," Stark smirked. "Cancel all my appointments and make sure no one interrupts me and Pepper for the next…let's make it three hours, m'kay?"

'Sir, I should inform you that my sensors are detecting some kind of minor energy fluctuations in the city,' JARVIS stated.

"Does it involve the Arc Reactor?"

'Analyses conclude no, sir.'

"Then someone else can handle it."

* * *

 ***Upper West Side, Manhattan, New York City***

 **0938 GMT/2:38 PM EST, 4 May 2012**

* * *

Disgust.

That was all that came to her mind when she looked upon these humans, these mortals. She was disgusted by them. They were all so frail and weak as a species, and they were such vile and filthy creatures. They were nothing in comparison to the Pantheon that sat in Odin's Palace in the Halls of Asgard. Nothing like the All Father or his queen, Balder and Heimdall, the accursed War Goddess and Thor… her beloved Thor…

No. She could not, would not think of that oaf, he who had chosen _her_ over her own beauty.

She smirked to herself; she would derive a bit of personal pleasure from this invasion, after all.

Disguising her true form with a spell, her blonde hair held up in a ponytail with skin tight blue jeans and green jacket, she was still a lovely sight to behold. Many mortal men turned their heads to capture her delicious form, only to turn away in fear from the muscular bald man that accompanied her as she walked slowly through the streets. He was heavily built, like a pro-wrestler or body builder, and he had an expression written his mustache and goatee face that sent shivers down spines. It was one that gave the air that he could easily kill one of these pathetic humans at any moment. He wore a black light jacket and dark colored pants and boots, and walked with the blonde woman in a subtly protective motion. He easily intimidated everyone that passed them or the both of them passed.

These mortals, the woman mused to herself. They do not suspect that today marks the end of all they know…and the beginning of the reign of the Trickster.

The two individuals suddenly stopped walking. This would've been completely normal if not for the fact that they stopped right in the middle of a busy street crossing, forcing more than a few vehicles to stop abruptly. In anger and confusion, they began honking their horns and shouting in anger, yelling at them to get out of the way. A number of passersby and nearby people gathered near the sidewalk edges, trying to get a glimpse of what was going on. Three nearby cops nearby quickly saw what was going on and began walking towards the two of them, not suspecting anything out of the ordinary. To them, this was just their regular boring beat getting some kind of small action.

Not one of those present knew at all just who, or what, they were dealing with.

"Sir, ma'am," one of the officers said with authority as he approached them. "I'm going have to ask you to –AACCKKKK!"

Everyone started screaming in shock as the large man grabbed the officer by the throat, nearly squeezing the life out of him, and hoisted him up in the air. He ignored the frantic yells of his fellow cops as they took out their firearms and pointed them at him, ordering him to let their comrade go.

"You do not interrupt us," he snarled as he threw the officer across the street, right into the window of a nearby deli, making everyone scream even more. Several shots rang out as the other two cops shot him, only to be horrified that they did nothing to him at all.

" _Amora…it is time to begin."_

"Very well, Loki," Amora the Enchantress smirked viciously as her hands suddenly began glowing with green magical energy. Shooting her hands to the sky, streaks of green energy flew into the skies, erupting into various bursts as they cascaded all across the island of Manhattan, landing with powerful crashes as they did so.

Everywhere in Manhattan, from Harlem to District X and SoHo, people started screaming in panic and fear and in worry as green energy balls crashed left and right. But it didn't stop there.

They would wish it had stopped there.

Where each ball of energy crashed, a portal was created. Rather large portals to be precise; and from these portals, loud and vicious roars echoed from within to the Manhattan skies. Before the horror-filled eyes of all Manhattan inhabitants, a large, blue skinned & red-eyed humanoid creature stepped out from the portals. They were soon followed by more of their kind stepping out of these portals …by the dozens. Each of them were equipped with various ice carved swords, spears, axes, shields, maces. The creatures stood between 10 and 15 feet in height, and were adorned with white colored tattoo-like markings across their entire bodies. They were clothed with heavy animal fur skins, and as they came out of the portals, they brought with them winds of temperatures of freezing cold proportions.

They unleashed vicious war cries and brandishing their weapons. In response to this, citizens across Manhattan began screaming in utmost terror and panic, fleeing for their lives. With echoing and gleeful cries of war, the blue skinned humanoids began their invasion.

These were the Frost Giants of Jotunheim, one of the Nine Asgardian Realms.

"Arise, Frost Giants of Jotunheim!" the Enchantress yelled out. "Arise and strike this world, claim the victory you were denied centuries ago! Take the mortals and Midgard by storm! FOR TODAY, MIDGARD FALLS UNDER THE MIGHT OF LOKI!"

As she said this, the clothes of herself and her companion morphed and changed, the illusions cast aside. Amora's modern attire was quickly replaced by a fantasy style all green dress that ended just a few inches below her waist. The rest of her legs were covered by green leggings and covered at the bottom with green boots. Her top consisted of a rather revealing bustier, showing an ample amount of her cleavage. Her arms were adorned with green gauntlet-like gloves that went above her elbows and ended just at her fingers, while her hair was crowned with a green tiara crown.

Her companion's attire morphed from his jacket and jeans to a more fantasy-medieval type look, as well. He now wore grey chainmail fatigues, along with black metal shoulder pads and chest armor, with a dark red axe insignia on the front. A warrior's armored kilt adorned his belts and his feet were covered with armored battle boots. In his hands, a monstrous axe, capable of slicing through almost anything manmade and able to use elemental attacks, glistened in the light of the energy bursts of the Enchantress.

Skurge the Executioner joined his Enchantress as she approached one portal in particular. Another group of seven Jotun came out of the portal, and among them, one stood out in particular. He was slightly larger and he had an air of dominance about him, an aura of authority above the rest of his kind. He looked at the Enchantress and Executioner and gave a sinister sneer, relishing the screams the mortals around him gave.

"Ymir of the Frost Giants," Amora said with an evil smile. "Welcome to Midgard."

And with that, the king of the Frost Giants gave an echoing and earth shattering roar.

About a block away, a blonde woman in her late 20s had yet to join in with the other humans running away in sheer terror. All around her, people were screaming at the top of their lungs, fleeing in every direction, with cars and buses being abandoned. These creatures, these alien invaders, were causing immense destruction around her, and were already killing people. Yet, here she stood in her typical calm and cool collective. She instead sighed, her eyes beginning to glow brightly as her shirt, jacket, jeans and boots began morphing into a red & blue costume.

"I can never have a normal day, I swear to God…"

* * *

 ***Some random bar, Lower East Side, Manhattan, NY***

 **0939 GMT/ 2:39 PM EST, 4 May 2012**

* * *

"Another round."

The bartender stood them in shock as the man before her placed the cup onto the counter with a thud. "That…that'd make it your 50th just this last hour!" she sputtered.

The 6'3'' man looked at her with a deadpan expression. "I don' see the problem here…" he replied, scratching his bushy sideburns as he puffed his cigar. He was wearing light and flexible black Kevlar body armor attire with fingerless gloves on his hands. The attire also had small yellow lines running across it, forming an X along the front and the back of his top, with another X insignia on his belt line.

"You're not drunk!" the bartender exclaimed, still shocked by the spectacle before her.

"Trust me, toots, it ain' as awesome as it sounds."

Before the bartender could respond, however, the ground shook powerfully as a few green bursts of energy crashed into the middle of the street outside. People could be heard outside in a screaming panic frenzy. The bartender, the man and the other patrons turned towards the window just in time to see hordes giant blue skinned creatures arise from what looked like portals made by the energy fallout. With roars, they began attacking anything and everything in sight. The people in the bar soon began screaming in fear.

...all except for the man in black.

"S'gonna be one o' THOSE days, ain' it?" he sighed. He quickly remembered that most of his team were off in South Africa dealing with some rogue Sentinels, while Havok's team of X-Men were dealing with something in Genosha. Charles was back at the school with the students, maybe with a teacher or two, but their focus upon seeing this on the news would be to keep the students safe there. If this wasn't contained here, Westchester would soon be hit by whatever these things were. Basically, unless he counted Madrox' team up in District X, he was on his own here with no backup.

Just how he liked it most of the time.

Chugging his final glass, the mutant got up and placed a $50 bill on the counter. The bartender, still recovering from the shock of the events outside, gasped even more as from the man's hands ejected six metallic claws, three on each hand.

"S'cuse me, ma'am," he said politely to her, sliding the bill across the counter to her. With that, he walked out the bar to confront these creatures.

* * *

 ***The Peak, 200 km above Earth's atmosphere. Orbital HQ of SWORD***

 **0940 GMT, 4 May 2012**

* * *

Alarms blared loudly across the Peak, echoing loudly across the hallway as the SWORD Director ran towards the Command Bridge. Reports and clashing voices rang in her ear from her comm, her teeth gritting. They had been taken by surprise completely. Nothing was going on

Less than half a minute later, the green-clad, green haired woman burst into the Peak's Command Bridge. It was in chaos as SWORD agents were going left and right, data coming in at astonishing rates, screens big and large bombarded with satellite images. Without missing a beat, the Director rushed to her command post, her 3-D screens bringing up thermal and satellite images of Manhattan Island.

"Reports, now! What the hell is going on?!"

"We have extraterrestrial gates opening!" one of the agents replied.

"Unknown energy readings are spiking all across Manhattan," another agent called back, her and several other frantically reading the data streams on their screens. "Satellite images are counting at least 70-no, at least 85 extraterrestrial gates opening up across the island!

"Data's coming in now on the invaders, Director," one of the agents called out as the screen was filled with satellite scans of images of the blue-skinned invaders.

"Sydrill!" the green haired woman yelled out to the canine-like extraterrestrial now dashing into the Command Center. "I need identification on these things, now!"

"Of course!" Sydrill replied as he got to his post and began typing furiously, the monitors scanning the creatures now plaguing Manhattan. Less than a minute later, however, he turned back to the Director. "We can't identify them, Director Brand! This species isn't in any of our databanks!"

"Director!" another agent exclaimed as she rushed over to the Director's command post. "Analysis of the energy spikes match detections we made of an energy surge of a possible extraterrestrial gate 67 hours ago!"

Again, the green-haired woman grit her teeth. She herself had sent several agents to investigate that specific energy surge less than an hour after they had detected it. Nothing had come of it, and now it seemed that their analysis had possibly led to this invasion taking place.

"What's Noh-Varr's location?!" she called out.

"He's still on the moon's dark side with that Skrull device detected earlier," an agent quickly replied as he dashed by.

Taking another glance at the screens before her, bombarded with various data feeds and satellite images, she took charge as she always did. "I want agents and battalions armed yesterday, ready for deployment! I want boots on the ground! Sydrill, collect as much data and scans as we can on these things. Protocol EIE-233B is in effect, effective immediately! Get in contact with Noh-Varr and tell him to get back here ASAP!"

It only took her three seconds to make her next decision, quickly switching communication channels.

"This is SWORD Director Abigail Brand calling the SHIELD Helicarrier _Archangel_! I need to speak to Director Nick Fury, now!"

* * *

 ***A small and random cafe. Brooklyn, New York City***

 **0944 GMT/2:44 PM EST, 4 May 2012**

* * *

"Oh my god, we're going to die!"

"Aliens! We're being invaded!"

"It's happening all over again! We're getting invaded again!"

"Look at them!"

"Someone call the police! Call the Army!"

The entire cafe, the customers and employees, were getting into more of a panic as the screen were flooded with newsfeeds from the cameras of the NY1 news chopper. The images of the blue skinned invaders laying waste to Manhattan induced horror and terror. They were yelling and screaming in fear, not sure what to do, or how to respond. The voice of the reporter was yelling in a frenzy, his voice fearful and high-pitched.

" _...to you live in Manhattan, where hundreds of giant blue-skinned aliens have just suddenly appeared not just here in Midtown, but all across Manhattan! Sources are confirming that the NYPD are scrambling as best as they can, and Commissioner Watanabe is requesting assistance from the other four boroughs! Chaos and panic are swarming the streets, with people fleeing all over the city, trying to escape these invaders! Local vigilantes and heroes have been reported to be springing into action, aiding police forces, and the local SHIELD base is responding as well! We have no word on any military response, but we can only assume that anyone is seeing this destruction and are deploying…!"_

Dr. Jane Foster, having just finished an astrophysics seminar event at a local college with her colleague and boyfriend, Dr. Donald Blake, looked at the screen in shock and growing dread. She had seen a few alien attacks on TV before in the last several years, but nothing on this level. This hadn't been seen on Earth ever before. To say that the brunette astrophysicist was fearful was an understatement.

Hell, if they left Manhattan...and crossed into the rest of New York City...

"Oh my god," Jane whispered as she brought her hand to her mouth, her eyes widening.

"By the All-Father..." her companion said with dread, causing Jane turned to him.

"Donald? Honey?" she asked, using his alias in case there were other nearby people listening, which she soon saw wasn't the case as they were all too busy staring at the screen and speaking in fearful tones. He didn't face her, but kept his attention to the screen. She then called him by his real name. "Thor?"

He turned to face Jane. "Those are Jotun...the Frost Giants of Jotunheim."

* * *

 _ **XXX**_

 _ **TO BE CONTINUED...**_


	2. Assemble! Part 2

_**Note: Carrier fighters. These aircraft are the SHIELD Quinjets of the MCU. As the Avengers have their own Quinjets in this continuity, I have given the MCU versions this name. To my knowledge, there is no actual military aircraft of this name or title in real life.**_

 _ **Response to a Review:**_

 **Since this is a rewrite of the first version and you're still going to do the storylines that you had planned, are you going to expand the Earth-919 universe through spin-off titles; like X-Men, Spider-Man, Avengers (team books), etc.?**

 _ **I have actually never considered this idea. I thought about it, though, and I'm sorry to say that this won't come to fruition. Although I think this would be awesome, I don't have the time to devote to this. I can only guarantee many appearances of other heroes/teams/etc., in various arcs here.**_

* * *

Chapter 2: Assemble! Part 2

* * *

 ***Tribeca, Manhattan, New York City***

 **0957 GMT/2:57 PM EST, 4 May 2012**

* * *

It was a war zone.

Left and right, the giant blue creatures destroyed, killed and ravaged. The streets were filled with people desperately running for their lives from the invaders as the NYPD rushed to respond as best they could. Regular units and SWAT divisions were taking to the streets, engaging the blue titans as best they could. It was clear, however, that they were outmatched and overpowered. Desperately but valiantly, they fired their weapons: handguns, combat shotguns, assault rifles; anything they had at their disposal in their attempts to battle the creatures that were tearing them apart. Even with the local SHIELD agents and SWORD personnel arriving to reinforce their efforts, the situation was badly against their favor.

This was the scene across Tribeca and all of the island of Manhattan. But here, the carnage was just as bad as across the island. Cars, buses other vehicles were crushed, broken and some were even aflame, glass and metal littering the streets and sidewalks. Sirens echoed across the streets, mixed with screams and bestial roars, as police and firefighters and EMH found themselves stretched dangerously thin. Bodies of civilians and police could be seen in any direction, and buildings were being trashed and destroyed, with some Jotun even climbing them, looking to get the humans within their upper floors. The Frost Giants (their names unknown to the humans) sowed destruction in their paths, their power and might seemingly unchallenged.

It was chaos.

His sister, however, knew chaos like no other.

As a Jotun made to slam his ice club upon a squadron of police firing at it, it was suddenly bombarded by a flurry of pink-colored spheres of energy. The Jotun roared in pain as it staggered back against the barrage, its weapon falling to the ground and shattering in half.

Across the metallic-carnage filled street stood a woman, her scarlet-gloved hands glowing vibrantly with pink colored energy. She wore an all scarlet outfit made of a coat-dress fusion attire with a cut down by her legs, revealing scarlet pants and boots.

The Jotun she had struck screamed in agony as it collapsed into the side of a nearby building, its body now seared with ugly scorches and marks. The woman's attention was suddenly diverted as all other nearby Jotun roared, taking notice of her and began charging at her, their icy weapons in hand.

"Was your brother not enough of an example?" she mused to herself. Her hands began glowing more brightly. With a yell, she fired massive bolts of arcane hex energy at her opponents, unleashing a slew of chaotic side effects upon their bodies, enticing more roars of pain and agony.

So concentrated on her current batch of enemies was she, however, that she failed to see another pair of Jotun charging her from her side.

Luckily, however, she was saved by a sudden blur and gust of wind. A vortex suddenly surged into existence, made by the pure speed of the blur. Magnified echoes of punches going at the speed of sound and too fast for the naked eye to see, powered by mighty momentum, rang out as the Jotun were continuously struck. Caught completely by surprise, the Frost Giants could do nothing but roar in pain and confusion. The woman's attention was suddenly diverted as their unconscious bodies crashed into the pavement behind her.

The vortex dissipated as the blur slowed down, revealing a man that had the same face as the woman. The differences were that his eyes were a different shade of blue, and he had silver-white hair in contrast to her brunette locks. He wore a mostly white body suit with blue linings on the sides and underarms, with padding on his shoulders, elbows and knees. He wore blue gloves and boots, and he had a pair of blue goggles over his eyes. He had a smirk on his face as he stared at her, which she retorted to with a huff and a cross of her arms.

The roars of more Jotun returned their focus to the invading creatures, with more of them popping out of the nearby portals.

"Wanda, my sister," the man smirked as he readied himself, his voice coated in an Eastern European accent. "Try to keep up."

"Pietro, my brother," the woman huffed as her hands glowed again, her voice wearing the same accent. "Try not to be such an ass."

* * *

 ***Entering NYC airspace; 350 ft. above sea level. Manhattan, New York City***

 **0957 GMT/2:57 PM EST, 4 May 2012**

* * *

"How bad is it?" Agent Barton asked as he readied his quiver.

"Apocalyptic bad," the Director responded, his voice echoing through their comms. "We're reading multiple portal incursions, and tons of these things are coming out of the portals. The NYPD, local agents and arriving SWORD troops are engaging, but they're getting hammered. What these things are, we have no idea; they don't match anything on the SWORD database."

"So, we are basically jumping into a war against an enemy whom we know nothing about, _da_?" Agent Romanova asked from the pilot's seat in the cockpit. Her Russian accent rang with slight amusement.

"Sounds fun," Agent Morse smirked, twirling her battle staves. Both began crackling with electricity at their tips. "Anything on a potential source, a point of origin, anything? That would help a bit."

"Negative, Morse. Our satellites aren't picking up jack on a specific point. SWORD is working on in, but nothing so far."

"Ok, so an enemy we know nothing about, who can clearly give pack a punch and are three times our size," Barton mused, pulling his cowl over his face. "Would be nice to have super-powered backup right about now."

Agent Drew, sitting across from him in the hangar bay, arched an eyebrow from underneath her mask. Raising her fist up, she allowed a surge of bioelectricity to envelope it.

"Yeah, I know you're here," Barton replied, securing his bow. "I mean more than just you."

"Mmhmm," Drew deadpanned. "Fury, what's our back up status?"

"All other Warriors are involved with other ops, Drew. Johnson's team is the closest, but they're in Los Angeles. We're trying to get these ops over with as best and fast as possible, but it'll take time. The _Archangel_ is en route, but I doubt we'll make it; the other two Helicarriers closest are at the Dock, and the rest are nowhere near enough. Hunter is deploying as many S.T.R.I.K.E. units as he can from the _Black Hawk_ , but their ETA isn't looking good. Other bases are scrambling jets and carrier fighters with troops, but as it stands, you four were the closest ones to Manhattan. You're on your own for now, minus the local base agents."

"Brilliant."

"We're closing in, comrades!" Romanova called out. Her eyes widened as she took in the sight of the city. " _Bozhe moi_ …"

The other three agents looked to the cockpit window, shocked by what they saw. Director Fury had briefed them as they flew to New York, but his words hadn't prepared them for what they saw. The island was illuminated by green light, which mixed with the pillars of smoke rising into the skies, courtesy of the destruction caused all around. Fires could be seen, and several buildings had been badly damaged.

"Holy…" Barton muttered.

A resolute expression coming onto her face, Romanova accelerated the thrusts of their carrier fighter, the aircraft racing into Manhattan. The Russian activated the onboard machine gun, which popped out from underneath. Bringing the carrier fighter closer to the ground, Romanov activated the VTOL engines and locked the Jotun into her radar and crosshairs as they looked up and roared at the aircraft.

"Those things are big," Morse remarked.

" _Nyet_ ," Romanova replied. "They're targets."

With that, the carrier fighter's machine gun roared to life. High caliber bullets bombarded the hordes of Jotun, who roared in pain and rage as they were hit. Romanova began unleashing their missiles, taking out as many Jotun as she could. Explosions rang out from below, and roars echoed in the streets as blue flesh and blood splattered across buildings and streets.

"Get ready to drop, comrades," she called out. Before anyone else could say anything in response, though…

"-anvers to SHIELD-zzzt!- Come in! This is Carol Dan-zzzzttt bzztz jhdbcd!-Back up now! I repeat, New York is under attackbsbbbzzzzt!-Help here now-bzzzt!"

A new female voice rang through the comms, a voice familiar to the four SHIELD agents. They hadn't heard that voice in the comms for a few years now. In fact, they never expected to again since the owner of the voice quit the Warriors some years back.

"Carol!" Drew replied into her comm, happy to hear the voice of her best friend. "Oh my God, where are you?! What's going on down there?! Can you hear us?!"

"Barely! There's too-zzzzt-tic, I think it's the interference-bzzzt-energy! Where are you, Jess?!"

"I'm on a drop ship with Natasha, Clint & Bobbi. We just entered New York airspace-!"

"Then redirect to the Upper West Side! I got a lady with magic-zzzztzzz-bzzt!-uge ass guy with an axe here! They're the ones who opened the portals-AAAARRRGHHH!" The distinctive sounds of battle and impacts rang through the comms as a resonating collision sounded out. "And-zzzt!-pack a punch-bzzzt!-need help with these guys!"

"You hearing this, Fury?!" Barton said into his comm.

"Loud and clear," the Director's voice said. "Ok, boys and girls, you heard Danvers. Divert your flight path to her location; we stop those guys she's engaging, we may stop this! Danvers, what is your exact position!?"

"34th Street-zztztzt-Avenue- **BOOM!** AARRGHH! DAMMIT! **SCREEAAAAHHHHHOWWW!** AAAAAA-! BZZbzzzzzzttt…." Static, and the line went dead.

"Carol!" Agent Drew yelled out, but to no avail, as no response came. "Carol, answer me, dammit!" The British woman was slowly overcome with dread, her voice getting more frantic. "CAROL!"

"Danvers, respond!" the Director ordered, with no response. "Danvers, respond, do you copy?!" Still nothing. "All four of you, get to her last known location and-!"

 **BOOM!**

"The hell was that?!" Barton yelled out. The carrier fighter jolted violently as if something had crashed into it, with vicious pounding striking the roof, dents digging into it. An explosion them suddenly rocked the aircraft, the rear consumed in flames as the engines were ripped apart by an ice spear.

"We've been hit!" Romanova yelled out as she struggled to keep the jet airborne, as it plummeted right to the ground in a downward spiral. "One of the creatures jumped onto the jet, and damaged the engines! We're going down! Brace yourselves for crash landing!"

Before any of the other three could try to secure themselves, or even react or reply, the hull was ripped open on the roof. Light poured in as a Jotun ripped a hole into the roof of the jet. It roared as it thrust its blue arm into the jet...only for Drew to slam her fist into its arm and firing a venom blast. As the Jotun quickly withdrew its arm in roaring pain, Barton quickly aimed an arrow and shot it out the hole, which exploded into flames. The Jotun was thrown off the jet, but it was too late as the aircraft crashed into the streets moments later. Thankfully, it didn't explode any further.

"Well, that happened," Morse mused. She and Barton quickly picked themselves up from the ground, weapons in hand, while Drew and Romanova had simply shrugged off the impact. "C'mon, Warriors, time to work for a living."

"Drew?" Romanova asked as she turned to the British SHIELD agent. "Are you alright?"

"We're going to kill them," Drew snarled at the Russian, thoughts of her best friend's fate in her mind. "Every last one of them."

" _Spazio_ , baby," Romanova smirked, cocking her M27 machine gun. "Let's go."

Without any hesitation, the British woman headed to the bay launch door and ripped it clean off its hydraulics. With a yell of anger, she flew out of the jet and threw it at the first Jotun she saw before she began shooting venom blasts in all directions. Her three teammates were right behind her as they engaged the enemy, their weapons and skills on full display as they fired and struck at the invaders with a vengeance. Fear did not have a place here with them; only determination as they threw themselves deeper into the carnage.

A blonde man wearing a purple and dark blue Kevlar body armor combat uniform customized to look like a medieval archer uniform. A dark blue and purple cowl with an "H" on his forehead, a bow in his hand and a quiver full of high tech arrows on his back.

A redhead wearing an all-black Kevlar combat outfit, with fingerless gloves, stinger gauntlets on her wrists, side arms on her thighs and ankles, a belt with ammo and a knife and a red hourglass insignia, and an M27 machine gun in her hands.

A full blonde woman, wearing a blue and white Kevlar combat suit with metallic gauntlets on her lower arms, dark blue combat boots that went up to her knees, a white combat belt, yellow goggles on her eyes and two twin metallic battle staves in her gloved hands.

A raven haired British femme fatale, wearing a Kevlar material costume that was completely red except for her yellow gloves and boots. A yellow insignia on her front torso beginning from above her chest, ending just where her belly button would be. An upside down triangle on her red mask, which covered half her face and covered her eyes with white lenses. Her hands glowing dangerously with green bioelectricity.

Agent Clint Barton, codename: Hawkeye.

Agent Barbara "Bobbi" Morse, codename: Mockingbird.

Agent Natalia Romanova, codename: Black Widow.

Agent Jessica Drew, codename: Spider Woman.

Four of SHIELD's elite and handpicked superhuman black-ops task force.

Secret Warriors.

* * *

 ***Stark Tower. Midtown, Manhattan, New York City***

 **0958 GMT/2:58 PM EST, 4 May 2012**

* * *

"Oh god…Oh…Oh, Tony…"

"Mm…so good…"

"OH! Tony, you animal!"

'Sir…'

"Not now, JARVIS-Whoa! I didn't think THAT would feel good…!"

"Oh, Tony, don't stop…oh don't stop…ahh, yes, oh yes-!"

'Sir, your attention is needed…'

"I SAID not now, JARVIS!"

"Ahhh…oh…yes…yesyesyes…don't stop-! AHH!"

"Oh yeah…"

'Sir, there are giant blue creatures attack Stark Tower, along with all of Manhattan.'

"JARVIS, I SAID NOT-wait, what?"

 **KABOOM!**

"OH MY GOD!" Pepper yelled out for a whole new reason as the tower suddenly shook violently, causing her to fall off the workshop table that Stark had placed her upon. Getting up, she returned her pencil skirt back to where it belonged as she rushed to the window, buttoning up her blouse back up, her bra completely forgotten on the floor.

Her yell of surprise brought a shirtless Stark to the window and he also gasped. Before their eyes, green balls of energy reigned down upon Manhattan, and on the ground they could see massive numbers of blue and very tall creatures with numerous weapons made of ice attacking pretty much everything in sight. Including Stark Tower, Tony realized.

"Tony..." Pepper said with dread. The CEO was already ahead of her, however.

"JARVIS!" he yelled as he dashed for his armor gauntlets and put them on. "Activate the Mark 22, NOW!"

'Sir, "616" hasn't been properly tested-'

"Then this is the test then!" Tony said before he turned to Pepper. "Pepper, get Happy and get everyone in the tower into the shelter in the basement! Stay there, no matter what!"

"Be careful out there, Tony."

"Don't worry, I'll be alright! I love you!" Stark yelled as he ran to an open window. "JARVIS, deploy!"

Instantly, black and gold armored pieces flew up from his workshop table, racing towards Stark. They began covering his entire body from head to toe. In less than a minute, Stark was completely covered up in black and gold armor. With a soft whine, the helmet landed on his head, and with the visor clasped into place. The eyes, ARC, and repulsors glowed a vibrant red.

Iron Man Mk 22 "616" was now online.

'Armor power levels at 100% full capacity. Reserves are at 500% capacity. Repulsor weapons fully charged and all other weaponry fully stocked. Shields and tactical trajectories are fully powered. All systems online and connecting to networks now.'

"Alright, JARVIS, let's go!" Stark yelled as he jumped off the Tower, plummeting down right for the Jotun, not caring that he had no idea what he was facing. Instantly, the armor repulsor jets activated, allowing his trajectory to be true and precise as he raced straight for the giant creatures.

"JARVIS, initiate warhead launch sequence!"

Instantly, miniscule tactical warheads ejected from Stark's shoulders, all of them firing and racing for the massive bodies of Jotun. Just seconds before the warheads made contact, Iron Man veered to his right, unleashing a barrage of repulsor blasts in every direction. As Stark fired continuously at the invaders, the warheads went off, the explosions rocking the streets. Though small, they packed quite the payload as they enticed roars of pain and anger from the Jotun. Some managed to escape any harm, but many were massively burned and marred, while some actually fell dead upon impact. Chunks of blue, ice-tinged flesh lay in the streets while thick blue blood was splattered everywhere.

"Ok, that is disgusting," Stark mused, readying his repulsors for more hits as the Jotun began to come at him. "JARVIS, scan one of these things and analyze."

'Their biology matches nothing on any SHIELD, SWORD or worldwide network database, sir,' JARVIS responded after a few seconds.

"Well…that's not good; speaking of SHIELD and SWORD, anything on them showing up? Or the military?"

'The National Guard is scrambling, sir, but they won't arrive for another 40 minutes, at least. The USAF has also been notified. Agents from SHIELD's Cocoon base here in Manhattan are already deployed. SWORD networks also confirm several battalions having been deployed from the Peak, and are already on scene. Both forces are stretched rather thin, however.'

"Well, anything on reinforcements?!" Stark asked as he fired his repulsors, striking several Frost Giants in the face. "I _really_ wouldn't mind a Helicarrier or three on scene right about now!"

'The three closest SHIELD Helicarriers are currently harbored at their Dock facility in Puerto Rico, with one undergoing repairs. The other two are scrambling to deploy, but their ETA will be at least several hours, even with ARC-enhanced flight speeds. The fleet's flagship, the _Archangel_ , is currently 2000 miles away from the United States, in the Atlantic Ocean. It is currently travelling at its top speeds but it will not arrive for another several hours, at least. There are no other Helicarriers in plausible distance.'

"Well, there's modern day Big Brother at its finest for you…Are they at least sending _someone_?!"

'SHIELD networks have confirmed that Director Fury has ordered the deployment of S.T.R.I.K.E. units and aerial units,' JARVIS replied. 'All nearby SHIELD bases are sending as many agents as they can. I also have intercepted a transmission from the Helicarrier _Archangel_ : four agents of SHIELD's Secret Warriors have arrived in Manhattan just several minutes ago and are currently engaging these invaders.'

"Any names?"

'Agents Barton and Romanova, along with two others: Mockingbird and Spider Woman.'

"Tasha and Legolas are in town? Nice, we'll drop by to say hello…after we handle these!" Stark yelled as he fired his uni-beam at the swarming Jotun.

* * *

 ***Upper West Side, Manhattan, New York City***

 **1016 GMT/3:16 PM EST, 4 May 2012**

* * *

"Oh…my…god…"

They were simply trying to make a quick buck today: break into an electronics store, loot it and sell the merchandise for some quick money.

They didn't expect any of this to happen: an invasion of blue giants that were literally tearing all of New York City apart, a hot-ass woman and her buff bodyguard axman starting it all…or one of the most powerful (and sexy) heroes in the city to get her ass handed to her seven different ways and be thrown like a rag doll into the building next to them.

They were just four criminals, armed with a crowbar, a ball & chain, some street fighting skills, and an old metal wrestling helmet. Before their eyes, these four thugs were seeing what they thought was the end of the world happening.

Dirk Garthwaite, Eliot Franklin, Henry Camp and Brian Philip Calusky all had no idea what to do.

But they _were_ utterly terrified.

"Do you see that?!" Camp yelled as he looked at the Enchantress and Executioner in the distance. "That green broad slapped her around like she was nothing. Man, she's supposed to have fought the Hulk before!"

"Franklin," Calusky yelled as he looked to Franklin. "This wasn't what we signed up for, man! This is the end of the world, dammit!"

"Yeah I can see that, you dumbass!" the former psychologist yelled back, his ball & chain in his left hand as he searched for a way for the four of them to get out of the area and somewhere safe. But everywhere he looked, however, he saw dozens of the creatures as they pillaged and destroyed, and the police attempting to fight back.

Dirk, however, was bold enough to approach the heroine's unconscious form. He would be lying to himself if he said that he never had any fantasies about her. Hell, any sane and straight male criminal in the city must've, more so when she used to have her old costumes. Damn, she was hot as hell…and here she was, unconscious, her costume torn a bit…

"Dirk!" Camp said as he and the other three ran up to him. "We need to get outta here, c'mon!"

"Let's have some fun with the lady, first," Dirk replied with a sneer.

"Man, are you crazy!?" Calusky yelled back. "The world is ending and you wanna have some fun?!"

"Have you not seen her-?!"

"Calusky's right, Dirk, we need to-!"

"Going somewhere, mortals?"

All four of them gasped as they turned to see the green-clad woman, the Enchantress, standing behind them, her hands glowing dangerously with green magical energy and a sinister sneer on her face. Right behind her stood her faithful servant, the Executioner.

"OH SHIT!" Calusky yelled in fear and horror, thinking instantly that the end had come for them all. Immediately, he turned and ran, and the other three followed in less than two seconds, dashing after their companion, not stopping until Executioner's ax flew past them and landed mere inches in front of where they could've been. They barely had made it to the block corner before the two powerful invaders stopped them. With horror, Calusky, Dirk, Camp & Franklin shrunk back in fear, utterly terrified of whatever was now about to happen to them.

"Please…please," Calusky begged. "Don't hurt us!"

"Hurt you?" Enchantress smirked. "On the contrary…I think I can find some use of you mortals."

"What?!" Dirk said with surprise. "Whaddaya mean?"

"As you can see, mortals, a new era is beginning," Enchantress continued, motioning to the devastation happening around them. "Your pathetic world is going to be extinguished. All shall be remade for the glory of the one I serve, Loki of Asgard. However, my lord is always on the lookout for new followers, those who are willing to support his cause and fight for him. I offer you the chance to have power in this new world order. You will have authority and prestige, power beyond imagination, and the strength to do what you wish. All I and my lord ask," she continued as she stretched her hand to the four of them, "is that you pledge your loyalty to him and his cause, and help us take this world."

"We do this, and we live, basically?" Franklin asked.

"Exactly."

"So…we get to be on top, strong, in charge, and no one will be able to stop us," Dirk said. The next moment, he was sneering. "Lady, where were you three years ago when I needed that! Guys, with that kind of power, no one will be able to ever stop us! And if we win and help them take over, we'll be in charge! All those assholes that made our lives miserable…"

"All the money we can ever want!" added Calusky.

"No one will be able to stop us!" Camp shouted with glee, fists in the air.

"That sounds like a sweet deal to me!" Franklin sneered, gripping his ball & chain.

"Lady," Dirk said as he held his crowbar. "You got yourself a deal."

"Perfect," Amora cackled, her hands now alive & glowing with energy. "Then prepare yourselves, for now, your decisions shall be rewarded as you are granted the power and abilities to serve Loki as he sees fit!"

Suddenly, her green energy shot into the skies, but instantly returned a few seconds later, and the burst landed directly on the four thugs. The energy burst into a blinding explosion, and Amora could hear the men's screams of agony and pain, but soon they disappeared and were replaced by the sounds of cackles and laughter and shouts of joy. In the energy, she could see the shapes of their bodies as they grew and got more muscular and brolic.

Amora sneered to herself as she said, "And new followers for Loki are born."

Meanwhile, on the other side of the street, the heroine that Enchantress had disposed of moments ago was now regaining conscious and was witnessing just what was happening. Her mouth fell in shock at the sight before her.

"Oh, my god…" she gasped in horror. She didn't know was going on, but she knew one thing: those two, the guy with the ax and the witch were strong (like her level of strong), and she knew she couldn't handle this alone.

Seeing her comm was trashed, she flew into the skies and headed to Times Square, hoping her former teammates were actually still alive.

* * *

 ***Grayburn University Campus. Upper West Side, Manhattan, New York City***

 **1019 GMT/3:19 PM EST, 4 May 2012**

* * *

Left and right, students were panicking and running around in terror and fear. There were only a few dozen cops and SWAT units around, and despite their best efforts to protect the students and professors of the college, they were out of their league.

The Frost Giants were going through them like nothing, wreaking havoc as they destroyed the various campus buildings and slaughtered humans by the dozens. With their inhuman cries of war and destruction, they continued to lay waste to the area. Outside the Grayburn campus, more Jotun were doing just the same.

Everyone was rushing as desperately as they could to head to the nearby subway stations to seek shelter and protection from the invaders trying to kill them. This was difficult for the students on campus, being they had to go through all the destruction and the Jotun themselves.

Luckily, they had some help on their side.

With a thunderous boom, an abnormally large man crashed through the Grayburn Library building, a Frost Giant on him, intent on killing him. The man was clothed in a black Kevlar body armor with lines of yellow running along and the arms, complete with yellow gauntlets and boots, topped off with red goggles that served many purposes; an outfit fashioned by his wife when he decided to forego his former identity. At the moment, he was 15ft tall, roughly the size of the Jotun, but he was able to change that size in a whim if need be. With a swift movement of his arm, he grabbed the ice club the Jotun made to bash into his head.

"How the hell did I get you to talk me into this?!" Dr. Henry "Hank" Pym yelled as he landed a swift right hook at the Jotun's face, sending him flying back into the Library building.

As Pym got back up, he saw a whole gang of Jotun racing at him, weapons in hand. They were instantly surprised as their opponent's size grew, into twice as tall as them. Nonetheless they attacked, only to be instantly bombarded with a vicious array of bio-stings from seemingly out of nowhere. With them distracted, Pym struck the Jotun again, sending them flying and slamming into the ground.

As he shrunk down to normal human size, the source of the distraction revealed herself as she grew back into normal size. It was a woman, a brunette with short hair and a slender petite figure. She wore a dark purple outfit that completely covered her body, including hands, legs and feet. The front torso part of her costume had a large yellow insignia on it, somewhat in the shape of a wasp sting. As she grew, a pair of insect like wings became visible as they shrunk back onto her back.

"Oh, c'mon Hank," Janet van Dyne-Pym replied, her smirk turning into a frown. "Look around you, this place is like a war zone. We need to help these people. Most of them are your students, after all. Besides, what's the use of superpowers if you don't use them to save people?"

"We fight supervillains, not alien invaders," Hank sighed, firing an energy blast at a nearby Jotun trying to destroy the Science building, sending it crashing into the ground upon impact. "Where's SWORD or SHIELD-?"

"They're not here, but _we_ are, so let's make the best of it," Jan replied with a smile as she quickly kissed his cheek.

Suddenly, they found themselves surrounded by a full battalion of Frost Giants, each roaring and brandishing their weapons. Hank & Jan went back to back, the smirk back on Jan's lips as their hands began bursting with energy again.

"C'mon, honey, let's show them what Yellowjacket and Wasp can do!"

* * *

 ***Times Square. Midtown, Manhattan, New York City ***

 **1023 GMT/3:23 PM EST, 4 May 2012**

* * *

"Watch your six!" Barton called out. "Focus on their joints and eyes!"

"I got it!" Drew called back, gracefully dodging a Jotun's axe swing. With a backflip, she rammed her foot into one's jaw, rapid firing venom blasts from her sides as a few other Jotun began grasping at her. A well-aimed punch to the jaw took care of another as it made to grab her. Jess landed with grace, only to be surprised as several other Jotun making for her.

"They sure do like you, Drew," Natalia called out with a smirk as she flung a grenade. "It must be the pheromones."

"Ugh, dear Lord," the British agent replied in disgust, her hands glowing vibrantly.

The four Warriors had been fighting their way across Manhattan, and had currently found their way to Times Square. The New York City landmark had definitely seen better days than this; cars and other vehicles were crushed, burning or torn in half, with bodies of civilians and cops and several agents on the ground. More than several of the buildings had been partially demolished and damaged, with even some in flames.

They had joined up with SWAT units and police fighting in Times Square, working with them to defend the area while civilians could escape into the nearby subway tunnels. Squad cars were coming in and officers were doing their best. But it seemed like a lost cause. Hand guns didn't pack the punch they needed, only grazing the Jotun's thick skin, and they didn't have enough combat shotguns or assault rifles to hand out. But they refused to falter or fall back, a trait the agents found admirable. People were counting on them, and while people were going around running away in terror, they stood their ground, even as they suffered for it.

An explosion to the right signaled another SWAT truck crushed, and two nearby officers were consumed by the flames. Hawkeye joined a trio of officers and a sergeant as they dove for cover. "What's the status on the military showing up?!" he asked.

"It's going to be another 20 minutes before the National Guard can get here!" the sergeant replied as he reloaded his gun. "Air Force and Marines are scrambling right now, but there's no ETA yet!"

"National Guard-?!" a SWAT officer began to yell, only for an ice spear to impale a nearby squad car, tearing it in half directly in the middle. "Does the army even know what's happening here?!"

"Do WE?!"

"All we can do for now is hold out until they show up!" Barton yelled out as he shot a trio of arrows and a trio of Jotun. They exploded upon impact, their heads consumed in flames as the bodies collapsed onto the ground. "C'mon, boys, let's show these bastards what New York City's Finest can do!"

"Still wouldn't mind a Helicarrier to show up right now!" Natalia called out, her gun shooting like crazy.

"Helicarriers?!" Morse called out. "I'm still on the superheroes! There's like a thousand of them in New York; where they hell are they?!"

The agents' skills were on full display as they worked with the police and SWAT in combating their enemies. Hawkeye rapidly fired explosive, smoke bomb, incendiary, impact and sonic arrows at the creatures, gaining their attention and while he managed to land good hits, even sending a number of them down for the count. It was all he could do to avoid their hits and continue firing at them.

Black Widow had slid under some Jotun and began firing upwards, right where a male human's crotch would be. It apparently seemed like shooting a Jotun there is just as painful as kicking a man there. As they fell to their knees in pain, she dodged the cascading ice weapons trying to hit her and jumping up, she fired her Widow stingers at them, making sure to hit their joints and eyes. Her Red Room enhanced abilities allowed her to keep up her agility and dodge the hits they kept throwing at her.

Meanwhile, Mockingbird, with her slender and somewhat petite form, easily and gracefully dodged all the Jotun' hits. With her adamantium coated staves, she began to relentlessly attack their joints and faces, using the destroyed cars and the bodies of Jotun as jumping points and managing to land a few fatal blows. She also succeeded in shocking a few of them, doing her best to aim at their joints.

Spider Woman continued going for the more direct approach, actually landing punches backed by her superhuman strength and landing powerful venom blasts. She also utilized her pheromone manipulation to get the Jotun in a dazed and unbalanced state of mind.

The combined efforts of the agents and police were paying off.

For a while.

The many portals across Manhattan were still open, and they continuously kept spewing out numbers of Frost Giants. While the human forces were slowly dwindling and exhausting themselves, the new arrivals were fresh and bloodthirsty. Numbers started turning against their favor; they were still only five agents and a dwindling number of cops against dozens upon dozens of these creatures. It was only a matter of time until one of them got a lucky hit. That was the case with Bobbi as she was slammed right into the window of the Toys-R-US mega-store, and it hurt like hell.

"BOBBI!" Barton yelled as he raced for her position, firing arrow after arrow, hitting and killing each one of his marks.

"Babe, I'm ok," she muttered as she struggled to get up. "Ow…damn, that hurt…"

"Hawkeye, get Bobbi!" Natalia called out. "Drew, cover those officers on the corner!" Before she could say anything else, however, the entire area shook with the sound of something that made even the Jotun pause momentarily.

A roar...one much louder than anything they had heard before from the Jotun.

Their attention was near instantly drawn to a portal two streets over, near the intersection. To their utter shock, it seemed to expand as something else climbed out of it. It was no Jotun, but a five story tall beast, gray skinned and vicious looking. It had a long, spiked tail and jagged claws on its feet, as well as a canine-like head, with deadly tusks. It narrowed its eyes in hunger and rage before it shook its head, roaring to the skies. Without waiting another second, it began attack everything in its sight, laying waste to the buildings around it.

A Jotunheim Beast.

The Frost Giants immediately began roaring in exhilaration and glee, signifying that this creature was indeed one of their own.

"Oh, _come on_!" Clint yelled out in exasperation.

"What the hell is that?!" Morse exclaimed.

"No idea!" Natalia replied as she aimed at it. "Everyone, fire now!" Several SWAT and cops joined her as she opened fire. Their bullets, however, did basically nothing but bounce off

"Really missing the carrier fighter right about now…" Drew muttered before she flew right at the monster, rapid firing her venom blasts. The Beast roared even louder, feeling the stings of her attacks, and slashed at her with its claws, only for her to dodge and ram a punch with all her strength into its cheek. She then hissed greatly in pain as her punch hurt herself, instead. She barely managed to escape the creature's jaws as it attempted to devour her, going back to her venom blasts.

"Hawkeye, get an arrow and shoot this bloody thing!"

Hawkeye's reply was two explosive arrows and one incendiary arrow at its flank. The creature roared in pain, turning towards the marksman. He barely had time to dodge before the creature pounced in his direction, showing a shocking amount of speed. Quickly, he shot a smoke bomb arrow at its eyes, temporarily blinding it. Jess flew back in, shooting her venom blasts nonstop as the creature tried to clear its eyes, but...

"AHHH!"

"Spider Woman!" Widow yelled out as she found herself being overwhelmed by the Jotun, desperately trying to keep them back with gunfire and stinger blasts.

Jessica had been struck by the Beast's tail, slamming her into the ground. Wincing and yelling in pain, Jess looked down to see a pair of somewhat deep gashes on her side. Hawkeye made to head her way, being he had some first aid supplies on his belt, but five more Jotun crashed into the Toys-R-US store, intent on murdering him and Morse.

Spider Woman made to take off into the skies, only for the Beast's paw to slam into, pinning her to the ground. The pain magnified as Jessica desperately tried to get its hand off her, but to no avail. The creature snarled in rage, saliva drooling from its teeth.

Jess nevertheless stared defiantly at the Beast, snarling, "C'mon, do your bloody worst!"

 **SNIKT! SNIKT!**

The creature then roared in vicious pain as it reared its back, allowing Romanova the chance to get Drew out of harm's way. The agents and the cops soon could see why: hooked onto the side of the creature's neck, his claws embedded into its flesh, was a man wearing ripped and torn black Kevlar body armor. He was partially covered in blue blood, and he had the look of murder in his eyes.

James "Logan" Howlett, the Wolverine. A staple member of the Uncanny X-Men.

The creature roared angrily as it clawed at its neck, trying to rip Logan off of it. Logan wasn't having it, though, and proceed to hack away violently before jumping onto the top of its head. The mutant then jumped onto its snout ridge and proceeding to drive his claws into its left eye. The Jotunheim Beast roared in pain, rage and anguish as it desperately tried to shake the Wolverine off, blood seeping through its eyes. Logan jumped off as the creature rammed itself headfirst into a nearby superstore steakhouse restaurant, landing gracefully in front of Drew and Romanova.

"Jessica, Talia," he greeted. "Good to see ya again."

"Likewise, Logan," Spider Woman smirked as Natalia nodded with a small smile. "Thank you for that, by the way."

"Don' mention it," he replied, now turning to the creature, unleashing his claws again. "Guessing this is happenin' all across Manhattan, huh? I've been hackin' through these things since over on the Lower East Side. I could'a bought that, but what the hell is that?!"

"Best guess? Their steroid-popping attack dog," Bobbi replied as she and Clint made their way over. "Good see you, Logan."

"Likewise," Logan nodded before turning to the marksman. "Hawkeye."

"Wolverine," the marksman replied as he quickly wrapped some gauze around Jess' wounds. Thanks to her immunity, she wouldn't get any form of infection. To ensure the wound wouldn't hurt her later on, the British agent partially cauterized her wound with the heat of her venom blast, sealing the wound enough to not be a discomfort but still allow for healing it.

The roar of the Jotunheim Beat again rang out through the air as it came out of the building, and stomped back towards them. The ground shook with its every step, small craters formed where its feet hit the streets. The five heroes tensed and readied themselves as it roared viciously, baring its teeth.

"Sooo...anyone have a plan?" Morse asked as she connected her staves into a staff.

"I can maybe tear it apart from the inside out," Logan mused, his claws at the ready. "Anyone familiar with the Fastball Special?"

No one had a chance to reply, however, as a surge of yellow energy suddenly blasted right into the Beast's head from above, forcing it to stagger back as it roared angrily. A figure then descended from the skies and rammed right into creature. Powerful echoing punches and mighty blasts of energy were heard as the Beast was continuously forced back step by step. Roaring in rage, it slashed and whipped with its claws and tail, and tried to bite its attacker. It was not to be as its attacker landed an uppercut onto its jaw, cracking it. The Jotunheim Beast was then grabbed by its tusk and flown into the skies. It was then effortlessly flung out to sea, towards the East River.

After several moments, the figure descended to the ground before the five heroes, revealing a woman in her late 20s. She wore a slightly tattered blue skin-tight Kevlar material costume with a red with gold striped top near the neck and shoulders, with an 8-pointed star on her chest. She wore red gloves & boots, and had a red sash around her waist. Her thick & long blond hair billowed in the wind, flowing in the form of a mohawk, courtesy of the red cowl she had on her face. Her hand was encased in a sphere of energy and the whites that covered her eyes seemed to glow.

"Someone needed help?"

Carol Danvers, Captain Marvel. Formerly Ms. Marvel, Secret Warrior of SHIELD.

"CAROL!" Jessica yelled in joy as she hugged her best friend. "I thought you were dead...the radio-I mean-!"

"Jess, I'm alright, don't worry," Carol grinned as she hugged her best friend. "They had just damaged my comm and knocked me out. Trust me, you're not getting rid of me that easily." Carol then turned to greet the other four. "Clint, Tasha, Bobbi...Hey, Logan; good to see you again."

"Danvers," Logan said with a small smirk.

"So, what's going on with your end of things?" Bobbi asked. "You said you were engaged with the two that started this whole thing?"

"Yeah, I was tussling with the two who started all this," Carol replied. "They're the ones who knocked me out. They're pretty strong…like my kind of strong. When I came to, they were doing something to four random guys, but I couldn't save them…Anyways, the leader of these things is out there somewhere, but I say we take out the two I met first. We stop them, we can probably stop this."

"A very good plan, mortal," a sultry voice rang out. All six of them turned to see the Enchantress and the Executioner standing atop of a pile of Jotun carcasses, both with smirks on their lips. "Unfortunately, you are in no position to carry it out," Amora added, a lazy sneer on her face.

"Them?" Logan said as he and the others got ready for battle.

"Yep," Carol snarled, her fists glowing with energy. "How about you come here and say that to my face, bitch?! I'll show you just what kind of position I'm in to hand you your ass!"

"Oh please, spare me your feeble attempts," Enchantress yawned. "Besides, it is not I you should be concerned about. I can't have you ruining the fun of the Jotun Frost Giants, now can I?

At that, the building to the right of the six heroes exploded, and from the smoke and dust, four figures emerged. One held a crowbar, another held a ball-&-chain, the third had over sized hands, and the four had some kind of metal helmet on his head. They were huge and had a lot of muscle, and the clothes they had were ripped and tattered, as if they had rapidly grown out of them. They immediately looked to the heroes and sneered.

"Time for some fun, boys!" Dirk Garthwaite yelled out, and Eliot Franklin, Henry Camp and Brian Philip Calusky did the same in joy. "Let's get 'em!"

* * *

 ***The Raft, SHIELD Prison. East River, New York City***

 **1027 GMT/3:27 PM EST, 4 May 2012**

* * *

"What the hell...?!" Coulson muttered, shock all over his face.

Ross, meanwhile, was busy yelling into his phone. "I don't give a damn! Get President Cooper out of the meeting! Manhattan is under attack! Get Rhodes, Lang, Talbot, anyone! Alert N.O.R.A.D. and Homeland Security! Get the response to respond faster, dammit! 30 minutes is unacceptable!"

"Jones, head to the Raft Command Bridge, now!" Coulson said to one of the agents. "Have them contact the _Archangel,_ the _Black Hawk_ and the Triskelion!" The agent nodded and headed back into the prison. Coulson turned to Ross and asked, "What the military response time?"

"The National Guard's already en route, ETA: five minutes," the general replied, both turning to the sight of a Manhattan under siege. "The Air Force and Marines are long out, though." Ross was silent for a moment before he made his next decision; sure, he wanted the Hulk, but he was a patriot and soldier of his country, first and foremost. "I'm taking my men out there, reinforce the NYPD; no doubt they're already being overwhelmed. We'll be taking the Hulk when this is all over."

Betty, meanwhile, was looking at the distant city in horror. "Oh my God…"

"Betty," Bruce called out from within his mobile cell. "Betty, what's going on?!"

"Bruce, Manhattan is...it's-!"

"INCOMING!" one of the agents suddenly yelled out. All eyes turned towards the river, or rather, the very large projectile that was plummeting their way from Manhattan over the river.

"Hit the deck!" Ross called out as everyone started running. He quickly ran over to his daughter and pulled her with him. The projectile stuck seconds later, crashing into the runway with a powerful thud. The resulting shockwaves sent the aircraft trailing several yards, and the agents and soldiers flying several feet. The runway cracked at the impact, with a crater forming, and dust and rock chunks flew into the air. A number of alarms all across the Raft began blaring loudly, alerting of an attack.

Only Betty saw that whatever had hit them had landed right on top of Banner's cell.

A massive roar captured the attention of all those present, as the projectile actually stood up. It was greyish-blue with a long spiked tail and tusks. It looked at the humans through its one good eye and with a roar, the creature made to attack before being bombarded with bullets, laser and artillery from behind. The Raft's defense battery systems had activated, with the creature roaring in rage as it tried to look for its attackers.

Captain Marvel had unknowingly thrown the Jotunheim Beast towards the Raft.

"Open fire!" Coulson and Ross yelled out as they themselves did so. The SHIELD agents and HulkBusters replied instantly, their weaponry barking as they joined in on attacking the Jotunheim Beast. Unfortunately, the bullets and heavy caliber energy lasers did nothing against the creature. In retaliation, it attacked by slashing its claws at the agents and soldiers, killing three and sending most flying into the walls.

"Betty," Ross yelled to his daughter, who was behind him. "Get inside the Raft, now!"

"But Bruce-!"

"Forget him! You need to get to safety!"

"All Raft personnel, we are now in Protocol R5, I repeat, R5! Initiate prison shutdown! This is not a drill!" Coulson yelled into his comm. "I need backup on the transport dock! All available agents, report to-!"

 **RRRRAAAAAAAAUUUURRRHHHHH!**

All present froze at the roar that shook the skies. All eyes turned towards the crush mobile cell that Bruce Banner had been in, the one the Beast had landed on. A giant green behemoth now stood atop the remains of the cell. Its muscles were thick and powerful, and popping veins were visible, and it wore orange prison pants that were torn. Its expression was one of pure rage, however. It let out another bestial roar, looking directly at the Jotunheim Beast.

The only one who could say anything was Betty Ross.

"Bruce..?"

* * *

 _ **XXXX**_

 _ **TO BE CONTINUED…**_


	3. Assemble! Part 3

_***Insert Disclaimer Here***_

* * *

Chapter 3: Assemble! Part 3

* * *

 ***Helicarrier UNN** _ **Archangel**_ **. Flagship of Helicarrier fleet; Supreme HQ of SHIELD. 1800ft above sea level, Atlantic Ocean; en route to New York City.***

 **1634 GMT/6:34PM GST (S. Georgia/Sandwich Isle), 4 May 2012**

* * *

The Command Bridge was in an uproar, screens left and right bombarded with satellite feeds, data streams and news feeds. Agents were scrambling from the various feed & data stations, with collected data streams on the invasion currently happening in Manhattan being exchanged, reviewed and analyzed. Tech agents had hacked into all NYPD and security cameras on the island, providing even more information. Various transmissions were coming in from across the global from governments, concern of a global invasion skyrocketing.

"Incoming transmissions from the Kremlin and Japanese Ministry of Defense! Redirecting…"

"Feeds confirm NYPD reinforcements from the other four boroughs are entering Manhattan to counter the invasion."

"Pentagon, NSA and Homeland Security networks are confirming the HulkBusters being deployed from Los Diablos in the Southwest United States."

"We have confirmation on American military on scene. All bridges and tunnels leading out of Manhattan are being blocked and cordoned off by armed forces and the NYPD."

"Another White House transmission, as well as from the DHS and Pentagon, ma'am. We also have various calls from governments across the world about the consulates and UN representatives present in Manhattan."

"Transfer the calls to the Triskelion," came the reply of a woman at the Deputy Director Stand. She was a 5'8'' brunette with her hair in a bun. She wore a dark blue SHIELD uniform with a white stripe on its chest, crossing onto her shoulders, with a bluetooth comm in her ear. She was armed with two Eagle Desert handguns: one on her thigh holster and the other on her body holster. She held an aura of confidence and authority, but she also knew her place in this system; despite her occasional questioning, she was content with what she did, and she knew where she belonged. Her fiery attitude helped in her alpha no-nonsense personality, and that made her all quite appealing. Rumor all across the Helicarrier was that she and Agent Phil Coulson, the other second in command, were a thing, despite Coulson already being spoken for.

Maria Hill, Deputy Director of the Strategic Hazard Intervention Espionage & Logistics Directorate.

"New images and data coming in from SWORD; transferring to DataCORE systems."

"We still have scans coming through from satellites on the invaders. Biological analysis still is inconclusive."

"We have visual on various local vigilantes and heroes fighting back alongside the military and NYPD."

"Feeds are showing District X as the most heavily attacked area. The invaders are engaged with various mutants in the area, particularly X-Factor Investigations."

"The Canadian, Mexican and Dominican militaries are mobilizing their forces for imminent invasion. Leaders from all three nations are requesting information and have concerns about potential expansion of the invasion."

"They can keep their military at the ready if they want to," Hill replied. "But tell them that as of now, the threat is still contained." Hill quickly sifted through the feeds from her stand before receiving another transmission into her comms. Turning around, she called out, "NATO is requesting updates, sir. Intelligence confirms other member nations are scrambling their militaries to intervene."

"Tell them to stand down," replied the Director from the Command Bridge Director's Stand. "They're ordered to stand down, plain and simple. They can mobilize for potential imminent invasion of their own borders, but they are not to intervene."

"Yes, sir."

From the Director's Stand, the Director frowned at the satellite feeds and data charts on his screens. A tall African American man in his late forties, he still had a very able figure and body. He was completely bald, and his scarred left eye was testament of the toll and demand that being in this field of work took on someone, hidden from the world by an eye patch. He wore an all-black outfit, complete with a black bulletproof trench coat. He was armed two Beretta M9s on his belt and thigh holsters. He had the aura of a leader, as was fit for him due to who and what he was.

Nick Fury, the current Director of SHIELD.

"Have we regained communications with the Warriors on scene?" he called out to Hill.

"No sir," Hill replied. "All contact with their carrier fighter has been lost. Tracking feeds show that it's crashed in Western Manhattan. The energy fields resulting from the portals are hampering with our comm networks; we have spotty communications at best with our agents on the ground. We can't raise Barton, Morse, Drew and Romanova on comms at all. We've also lost complete communication with Danvers, as well as her comm's signal."

"Dammit..." Fury muttered as he stared back at his screens. He hated the situation that they had found themselves in. Alien invasions were expected to come from space; encounters with the Kree, Skrulls and several other species had led them to expect that. An invasion coming from on Earth itself had caught them completely off-guard. In aiming at the skies, they had been ambushed from right next to them. And now Manhattan was suffering for it.

"What's our current speed?"

"We're going at our top speeds," Hill responded. "But even with the ARC-enhanced speed we're on now, we're still more than several hours out."

"The _Luxor_ and _Guardstar_?"

"They just deployed from the Dock 20 minutes ago, but their ETA is only just a bit less than ours. Something else, sir; the Raft is transmitting it's entered Protocol R5. We're assuming that the prison has come under attack, most likely from the invaders in Manhattan."

Fury swore. "Coulson was at the Raft, with Ross and the HulkBusters...Get in contact with Raft command, and get Coulson on the line." Turning towards another direction, Fury called out, "Sitwell, what's the status of the other Warriors?"

From a satellite feed station nearby, a black haired man wearing glasses and a suit & tie looked towards the Director's Stand. "Johnson's unit just left Los Angeles," Sub-Commander Jasper Sitwell replied. "They cleared the Pride's base, confirmed they had been there but are long gone. Their ETA is at least 50 minutes, though. Carter, Wilson and Bloodstone are still caught up with the Purifiers operation in Japan. Baldwin and Miyazaki's teams just wrapped up their operations. They've been remanded towards New York, but the ETA of both teams doesn't look good, though, sir."

"Well?"

"An hour, at least."

"Sir," another agent called out from across the Command Bridge. "Incoming transmission call from the _Black Hawk_!"

"Patch it through," Fury ordered. One of the screens on this Director's Stand switched from news and satellite feeds to a live call feed from the Helicarrier UNN _Black Hawk_ , the mobile headquarters of SHIELD's S.T.R.I.K.E. division. On the screen was a black haired British man with a scruffy beard, wearing a leather jacket, fingerless gloves, combat pants and boots, all in black. An M1911 was holstered on his thigh, with another under his jacket.

"What do you have for me, Hunter?"

"Not much, in terms of good news," S.T.R.I.K.E. Commander Lance Hunter replied with a small frown. "I've scrambled as many units as I can to head to New York, but there are 13 different operations we have going on at the same time. Not to mention the fact that the _Black Hawk_ is over southern Africa, so the units I have on board-"

"Give me the numbers."

"Four ten-man teams currently en route, ETA: at least an hour."

"Sir," Hill called out, her hand on her comm. "The Council is requesting an update."

"Tell them the same thing I told them the last three times," Fury barked back as sifted through the feeds. "Manhattan is still going to hell!" Turning back to the Hunter's face on the screen, he continued, "Do better, Hunter; forty men isn't enough."

"Fury, I'm doing the best I can with what I have, mate," Hunter replied with a frown. "I only have so many agents I can spare. I have other agents scrambling and deploying, getting ready to fly out to Manhattan. It's not like I can just recall entire units and teams from all current operations. The distance between us and Manhattan-"

"Enough with the excuses and just get something done," Fury interrupted with a snap, killing the transmission right there. Bringing up a thermal satellite feed of the Financial District, the Director called out, "Is there any word from the Baxter Building or the X-Men?!"

"We still have no response from the Baxter Building, sir," an agent called out as he rushed by. "We're assuming that the Fantastic Four are off site. Intelligence also shows that both X-Men teams are on different continents."

Fury swore again, clenching his fist. The _Archangel_ wouldn't make it to Manhattan within sufficient time to effectively provide any reinforcement, and neither would the _Guardstar_ or _Luxor_. Unless they wanted to face an even greater scale invasion. "Patch me through to the Peak. I want to speak to Brand on their analysis of these energy fields."

They were apparently, and basically, screwed, unless some form of miracle occurred in Manhattan.

* * *

 ***Embassy of Wakanda to the United Nations. Tribeca, Manhattan, New York City***

 **1037 GMT/3:37 PM EST, 4 May 2012**

* * *

It was a well-known fact that Wakandan technology and weaponry were much better and much more advanced than those of the rest of the world.

Their firearms held more caliber, more firepower and more stealth. Even their spears, which looked like primitive objects, were much more advanced. With vibranium elements implemented into their weaponry, Wakandan military forces were one to be reckoned with. Yes, Wakandan weapons were much better…and they packed quite the punch. Something that was being demonstrated quite heavily in the war torn and chaos-ridden streets of Tribeca in the immediate area surrounding the Wakandan Embassy.

A Jotun roared in agony as another vibranium spear impaled itself into the creature's remaining eye, forcing it to drop the ice club in its hand. With it distracted, the embassy guards quickly headed for the family of five the Jotun had almost slaughtered, while the Royal Wakandan guards rapidly fired in succession at the Frost Giant. The vibranium shells and energy blasts were too much for its body as it roared its last and collapsed onto the street with a loud thud, joining the slew of Jotun bodies already on the ground.

This had been the scene around the Wakandan Embassy for the last hour now. By orders of the King, the Wakandan guards were helping to bring in any nearby civilians into the embassy, where they would be safe from harm. If any of the creatures tried to attack the embassy, they would find it near impenetrable-the thick marble walls were coated with thin layers of vibranium, which was still more than enough to absorb almost any hits that came their way. The Frost Giants would realize this too late as they would then be mowed down by gunfire or javelins.

"They continue to come, captain!" one of the guards yelled as he began firing his machine gun at an approaching group of Jotun. Despite their best efforts, the Wakandan soldiers had long ago realized that this was a losing battle. From what they had heard from the staff inside, this was occurring all across Manhattan, and if that were the case, then there was no way they could possibly hold off for such a long amount of time against such numbers. They only had so much ammunition…

The remaining Jotun continued to attacked again, apparently trying to use numbers to their advantage as more of them came out of the portals. The Wakandan soldiers remained defiant as they shot everything they had at them, slowly forcing the closest ones back and killing several others. The guards suddenly noticed a young teenage girl coming out of the ruins of a nearby restaurant, her face full of fear.

"Oh, that is not good," the guard captain muttered before cursing in Wakandan.

Some of the Jotun saw the girl and immediately broke off to get to her. Screaming, she ran towards the embassy, and a few guards ran off in her direction to get to her first before the Jotun. It was clear, however, that they wouldn't make it in time.

At that moment, a figure in black raced past the guards at the gates of the embassy, heading right to the Jotun. In a wave of his arms, a flurry of vibranium daggers flew at the creatures, causing massive roars of pain from the creatures. But the figure didn't stop there. With superb uncanny agility, he dashed up to the Jotun and jumped up with reflexes and strength no regular human could have. Unleashing vibranium claws from his gloves, he slashed at their faces, causing massive and deep wounds, spitting blue blood from their faces.

Jumping back away from them, he turned to the guards, and yelled, "FIRE NOW!" The guards did just that, shooting mercilessly at the now crippled Jotun and bringing death to them, while the man in black picked up the teenage girl and dashed back to the embassy, where he handed her over to the safety of the guards at the Embassy entrance.

The man then went back to where the other soldiers were aiming at the rest of the creatures. He was completely covered in a black fabric-vibranium laced uniform that was considered royal clothing in Wakanda. His claws glistened and dripped in Jotun blood, and there was no skin visible. His mask covered his whole face, and it was fashioned after the moniker of a jungle cat. A black cape billowed behind him, with golden jewels embedded in the uniform in his wrists, torso and lower legs. His aura was that of a king, a ruler and a warrior…a protector.

King T'Challa of Wakanda, the Black Panther.

"Your Majesty," one of the soldiers began to say. "I do not think it is wise for you to-"

"I will do my part in protecting my people and the people of this city, child," Panther replied, taking out more daggers and getting into a battle stance. The guards knew they couldn't change the mind of their king once it was made up. They joined him in a battle stance, the Jotun Frost Giants charging at them...

Only to be taken aback when pink energy spheres came from their right, barraging the creatures. This immediately caused roars of pain from the Frost Giants as the spheres spawned fire and other chaotic effects on their bodies. The Black Panther turned to see a woman in deep scarlet-red clothing firing spheres of energy from her hands, and a man in a white and blue body suit standing next to her. T'Challa recognized these two individuals; they had tried to invade his kingdom a few years ago when they were still under the influence of their father.

The woman then suddenly stopped her attack, and in a few seconds, the man that had been next to her made quick work of the dazed and mortally injured Jotun. He went at supersonic speeds, punching them into oblivion, and they all fell to the ground with loud thuds. The Jotun threat in this immediate area was temporarily halted. The many portals nearby would no doubt start spewing more soon enough.

The two new arrivals walked towards the embassy, with the guards immediately aiming their weapons at them. They only lowered them when T'Challa raised his hand, signaling for them to stand down. He then walked over to the twins.

"Scarlet Witch. Quicksilver."

"Black Panther," Quicksilver said bluntly.

"It's good to see you again, Your Highness," Scarlet Witch replied with a smile. "And please excuse Pietro's attitude."

"I think it's justifiable at the moment, Wanda, seeing that we apparently are at war."

"This is happening all across Manhattan," Panther said. "A shaman of my High Council said dark magics are being trifled with."

"He is correct," Wanda replied. "I can sense dark magic and arcane arts at work...these portals reek of such power."

"You are very well versed in magics, if I remember. Have you attempted to seal them or otherwise?"

"I have not had a chance to get near them, given the current situation. I do not think that Stephen Strange is present at the moment, as I have not seen or sensed any form of magical response against this invasion. I am afraid we will have to go right to the source of this magic and snip it there."

"Do you know where is it coming from?"

"I believe it is coming from Times Square," Wanda replied. "That's where a large amount of the magical energy seems to be allocated at the moment, from what I can sense."

The Black Panther wasted no time in making his next decision. "Guards, ensure that no harm comes to those within the embassy. Protect these people as if they were Wakandans. We may have a chance of coming out of this yet."

"What shall you do, my King?" the guard captain asked.

"I am joining these two in ending this invasion and this war."

* * *

 ***The Raft; SHIELD Prison. East River, New York City***

 **1038 GMT/3:38 PM EST, 4 May 2012**

* * *

The Jotunheim Beast roared violently, saliva flying out from its mouth, digging its claws into the runway.

The Incredible Hulk roared right back, rage across his fear and no fear displayed at all.

Everyone present was tense and extremely nervous as they took in the sight before them. The giant monster and the Hulk were snarling at each other, sizing each other up. It was clearly evident that the two were going to fight each other. The fight could easily end up destroying the Raft, and kill them all. Coulson and Ross found themselves unable to come up with any thoughts or words. All the agents and soldiers were gripping their guns tightly, half-ready to start shooting.

Betty was torn between feeling relieved, terrified and speechless. The creature that had tried to kill them all was now completely focused on the Hulk. The gamma-irradiated titan was clearly pissed off, his rage directed at the creature that had crushed Banner, the remains of the mobile cell around the titan. She knew that the fight was going to be heavy, but Betty wasn't afraid that Hulk would end up hurt her or the rest of them.

It was what would happen afterwards that was scaring her.

"HULK SMASH GIANT MONSTER!"

An echoing boom rang out as the Hulk jumped up and rammed himself right into the Jotunheim Beast. It roared in rage and pain, the blow making it stagger back more than several steps. As the Hulk landed, it quickly retaliated as it slashed him and sent him crashing into the outer walls of the Raft. Meant to withstand blows from the likes of Mr. Hyde and the Rhino, the adamantium-reinforced wall still suffered a heavy dent from the force of Hulk's impact. There were three deep gashes on the Hulk's chest bleeding profusely, but this only proceeded to infuriate the titan even more, and with a roar he charged for the Beast. The Beast lashed out its tail, but the Hulk jumped over it and landed on its head. He began punching away at its skull, each blow making the Beast roar in pain. It attempted to force the Hulk off by charging headfirst towards the Raft's bay hangar doors...where the humans were standing.

"Get out of the way!" Coulson yelled out as the agents and soldiers ran for cover, Ross pulling his daughter with him. The Jotunheim Beast slammed its head into the doors, bringing them down with a heavy thud. The Hulk had been knocked off from the sudden impact, but quickly jumped back onto it as the creature pulled away. It roared as it slashed away, with the Hulk dodged and grabbing onto the side of its head. He punched away again, enticing violent roars from the creature. It reared its head back in an attempt to throw the Hulk off, but the titan simply gripped its tusk tightly, not letting go. In fact, it he gripped the tusk even tighter, pulling mightily.

With a roar, the Incredible Hulk savagely ripped the tusk out of the Jotunheim Beast's skull.

The creature roared shrilly and painfully, agony coursing through its head and thick, blue blood pouring out of the wound. Desperately, it tried to claw the Hulk off of its neck, but the Hulk refused to let go. With another roar, he instead thrust the tusk deep into the Jotunheim Beast's neck, deep enough to have it pop out the other side. The creature's roars were immediately silenced as blood poured into its throat and lungs. It convulsed in a spasm as its body then collapsed onto the runway, crushing one of the SHIELD aircraft under its weight. It didn't move after that, lifeless.

Hulk got off of the body and roared in victory. However, the rest of everyone present now found themselves filled with nervousness and uncertainty. With no distractions, what was the Hulk going to do now? The titan simply stood there, his eyes narrowed as he turned to the agents and soldiers, breathing heavily. More than several of the agents and soldiers gripped their weapons in reflex.

"All HulkBusters," General Ross began to say. "Open-!"

"No!" Betty interrupted. "Don't do it!"

"Betty, the Hulk is about to kill us!" Ross yelled.

"No…he isn't," Betty replied. She then began walking towards the Hulk, much to her father's horror.

"Betty-!" Ross yelled as he tried to go after her, only to be grabbed by Coulson.

"She knows what she's doing, Ross. Trust her!"

"Hulk…Bruce…" Betty said softly as she approached the Hulk. The titan's gaze followed her as she came closer, until she was standing just couple of feet away. He stood more than eight feet tall, more than three feet over her head, but that didn't stop her from stretching out her hand up to him. Despite his seemingly fierce and angry expression, Betty knew different. Experience had taught her that.

"It's ok...the monster is dead." The Hulk simply stared at her silently, and Betty took this as incentive to continue. "You won't hurt us, right? You were just trying to protect us...protect me. I know you won't hurt us, right?"

"No," Hulk replied with a low rumbling voice, nodding. He then slowly placed his own palm gently on Betty's outstretched hand. "Hulk was just trying to protect the humans."

"I know," Betty smiled. "Thank you."

This was enough to satisfy Coulson. "Agents, stand down. Get someone to the Raft Command, and have them turn off those damn alarms. Establish contact with the _Archangel_ , ASAP. Alert the Warden that I'm taking two teams with me to Manhattan to reinforce defense efforts. Have him scramble a Mandroid battalion, also." Turning to Ross, he added, "I assume you and your men will be joining us, right?"

Ross stared at Betty and the Hulk for several more moments before nodding as he turned to Coulson. "Right...yes, we need to address that problem. It's a miracle my choppers and Boeing weren't destroyed in that fight. We need to head out immediately; the National Guard should already be on site, maybe the Air Force. Hopefully, Talbot has other reinforcements en route." Taking another glance at the Hulk, he asked Coulson, "I'm assuming you'll be holding the Hulk again until this is all over for us to take him back?"

Betty, meanwhile, ignored everyone as she watched the Hulk walk over to the edge of the Raft transport dock's runway. From his vantage point, Hulk could see the pillars of smoke of the destruction occurring in Manhattan, fires raging and many buildings damaged, as well as the green essence that seemed to envelop the city. Betty walked up next to him, looking where he was. She wondered what was going through his mind.

It wasn't long before a familiar voice came from the back of the Hulk's mind.

 _"You could go and help them." In their mind's landscape, Hulk turned to see Bruce Banner standing before him._

 _"What do you mean, Banner?" Hulk muttered._

 _"You could make a difference...show them that you aren't the monster they think you are. You could go out there and help save them. They'll see your intentions. They'll see that you're actually helping to protect them, not hurt them."_

 _"Or they'll see the Hulk fighting and think I'm attacking them, too," Hulk sighed as he sat down on the barren ground. "It doesn't matter what I do...they'll always believe it, and they're right. I am a monster."_

 _"Only if you let it be true," Bruce replied as he sat down next to Hulk. "It'll always truly be up to you to show them that the Hulk can be a force for good. Betty believes it...Coulson believes it. Hell, even Nick Fury thinks it could maybe work, and he tried to hunt us down too, at one point." Hulk remained silent, staring off in the distance of their shared mindscape. "I hate being hunted, just as much as you do...but on the plus side, we've gotten to see the world."_

 _"Yeah, there's a bright side," Hulk muttered._

 _"How about this?" Bruce said. "If you do this, we can stay as Hulk. I'll simply act as a conscious, and come out only when you want us to revert back to Banner."_

 _Hulk turned to stare in wonder at Bruce. "You'd...you'd do that?"_

 _"Of course."_

 _"Why?"_

 _"Because we're in this together. What do you say? Agree?"_

Back in reality, Betty made to reach out her hand to Hulk, and gasped in surprise when Hulk turned to her. "Betty," he said as he crouched down to level himself with her. "Hulk...I need to go out there. People are getting hurt."

Betty was silent for a moment, and then nodded her head. "Then go. I'll find you after."

Hulk nodded. Then, standing up, he prepared his leg muscles and then with an echoing boom, he jumped away, heading straight across the East River for Manhattan. This immediately brought Coulson and Ross over to where Betty was standing.

"Where the hell?!" Ross yelled angrily. "Where's he going?!"

Coulson simply looked off to where Hulk was going, surprise on his face.

"He's going to try and save New York," Betty whispered in response.

* * *

 ***Somewhere in northern Midtown East, Manhattan, New York City***

 **1044 GMT/3:44 PM EST, 4 May 2012**

* * *

 **CRASH! FRABOOM!**

'Shields are now at 73% strength.'

"Yeah, I can see that, JARVIS," Stark muttered as he flew out of the hole he had made in the side of the tower he had just been thrown into, heading straight for the Jotun that had surprised him. His repulsors immediately fired, attacking as machine guns would, rapidly landing blow after blow on the creatures. As they recoiled from the powerful impacts, Iron Man then landed a powerful metallic haymaker on one of them.

He then returned back to the call he had on. "What do you mean they're still en route?! It's been over an hour!"

" _We don't exactly have that many USAF bases on the East Coast, Tony,"_ USAF Lt. Colonel James "Rhodey" Rhodes replied over the line. _"Most of the responding aerial units are coming in from the Southern East Coast and from New Hampshire. We also have some transports picking up several Marine battalions."_

"I thought fighter jets were faster than that!"

" _We can't send fighters into the area, man! The skylines hinder mobility; the best we can deploy are choppers and transport jets."_

Stark groaned loudly. "Seriously?!" He took another look at the satellite feeds of his armor; Manhattan still looked like hell. "Just hurry up and get them here! The National Guard got here already, but we still need reinforcements. SHIELD is hours out; they only have a few dozen agents on the ground here. Manhattan is getting destroyed!"

" _What do you think we're trying to do, man?! Hunting unicorns?!"_ Rhodey stopped talking as muffled voices came from the background on his end of the line. _"I got to go, Tony; top brass is calling a strategy meeting with the command heads."_

"A strategy meeting," Stark muttered as the line went dead. "Here's a strategy, you idiots: get some reinforcements here already." The billionaire fired another barrage of repulsor blasts at another group of nearby Jotun. "Any luck on figuring out what these things are, JARVIS?!"

'I have still not been able to identify what they are, sir. Their biological readings are unlike anything on Earth, man-made or otherwise. Further analysis, however, suggests that the portals from which these invaders are coming from are gateways to another solar system or galaxy.'

"Gee, that helps," Stark retorted sarcastically as he fired his uni-beam at a group of Frost Giants trying to flank his rear.

'You are being outnumbered, sir.'

"I know…!"

'And you are also allowing your left flank to be exposed.'

 **POW!**

"AAAHHH!"

'I did mention-'

"YES I KNOW, JARVIS!" Stark yelled as he got up from the small crater in the street that his impact had created. He quickly saw that he was surrounded on all sides. His armor's scanners showed that there were at least 20 Jotun around him. The armor stats also showed that while his repulsors and mini warheads were still ready to use, his uni-beam wasn't going to be charged up again for another minute. He doubted he would have enough time.

"What's our status on rapid deployment mini-warheads?"

'Our current supply is almost drained; the armor only has about 10 remaining. I recommend saving those for when you need them, sir."

"I think I need them now!" Stark replied, his repulsors firing up as he prepared to fly up again. Before he could do anything, however, a giant 15 foot tall man in a black & yellow costume with yellow gauntlets suddenly came out of nowhere and bum rushed two of the Jotun. Sending them crashing into the ground, the new arrival. Before the other Frost Giants has a chance to react, he lashed out a leg and collided it with another's stomach.

"Hey, Stark," Yellowjacket yelled out as he began engaging the Jotun.

Stark simply stared on for a few seconds. "Or...Hank can just come in and save my ass...that works too."

'Indeed it does, sir.'

"I am so glad I didn't program you with actual emotions," Stark mumbled as he flew up and fired his repulsors, joining in with Pym against the creatures. "So, Hank, where's Jan?"

"Right here!" Wasp yelled out as her seven inch form flew past him, firing deadly barrages of bio-sting blasts at the Frost Giants. She flew directly into one of them and, to Stark's immense surprise, grew to a height of 15 feet and slammed her energy-fueled fist into its face.

"Since when could she do that?!" Stark exclaimed in surprise.

"Since always," Pym replied. "Where have _you_ been?!"

The trio continued to make quick work of the invaders. Wasp shrank back to small size and relentlessly fired her stinger blasts, blinding the Jotun, while Yellowjacket and Stark pummeled their way through the hordes of invaders, felling them three at a time. Roars echoed and ice weapons shattered as the three heroes continued their unified assault. Soon, only the three of them were standing amongst a sea of Jotun bodies and unconscious forms.

"Well, that takes care of that," Jan said with a smirk as she returned to normal size.

"It's not over yet, Jan," Stark replied. "There are hundreds of these things all over Manhattan, maybe thousands, and they're going vicious on us. The police and National Guard are doing the best they can, but it looks like they're being swamped." He paused to fire a repulsor blast at a stirring Jotun. "The Air Force is still 20 minutes out, same with the Marines, and the HulkBusters are even worse off. The local SHIELD agents are working with them, and SWORD has some people here, too. The rest of SHIELD won't be here from another 40 minutes to at least several hours. JARVIS did find out that some SHIELD agents arrived in the city to fight these things, thought."

"Yeah, we know," Hank replied.

"...You do?"

"Yes."

"How?"

"Some ants told me."

"...ants told you."

"Yeah, they said they're all in Times Square."

"Ants told you that?"

"Yes, Stark."

Tony turned to Jan. "Remind me again why you're with him…"

* * *

 ***The Brooklyn Bridge, the Brooklyn side***

 **1047 GMT/3:47 PM EST, 4 May 2012**

* * *

All transportation to Manhattan had literally stopped.

The bridge was completely cordoned off. Military vehicles, SWAT trucks and patrol cars were racing across the bridges and tunnels that connected Manhattan to the rest of New York City. Other soldiers and NYPD officers blocked off the bridges and tunnels as best they could, fortifying entrances should the invaders try to leave Manhattan. On many subway and railroad lines, angry passengers were forced to wait out in the trains that were stuck in place, unable to enter Manhattan. As the bridges were closed off, hundreds of angry travelers demanded to be let across...only to decide being where they were wasn't so bad once they saw Manhattan off in the distance.

On the Brooklyn side of the Brooklyn Bridge, the National Guard and NYPD had cut off the entrance. They were allowing only SWAT and police through, along with ambulances and some fire trucks. They had also set up defenses in case the Jotun attempted to cross the bridge. On the other side of the barriers set up, civilians looked on anxiously at the sight of Manhattan under siege across the River.

Suddenly, a honking horn was heard, along with a siren and a few dozen shouts from officers and soldiers. People barely managed to jump out of the way of a speeding renegade squad car. The car broke through the barriers and the police and soldiers on the bridge were forced to jump out of the way. The car was met with no resistance as it got onto the bridge and sped off towards Manhattan, joining the other military and law enforcement vehicles, speeding past them.

"OH MY GOD!" Jane yelled as she hung onto the car seat for dear life. There were a lot of things that Thor had managed to adapt to as a mortal and living on Earth, or Midgard as he called it. Driving was not one of them. "THOR, YOU'RE GOING TO GET US KILLED!"

"Oh, ye of little faith," Thor laughed as he continued to speed, slamming his foot on the accelerator even more. "Besides, this is the only way we can get to Manhattan to stop this madness!"

"But did you have to hurt that cop so bad?!" Jane yelled, wincing at the memory of her boyfriend knocking the officer out cold.

"He'll be fine! What matters now is we get to Manhattan. I truly have a bad feeling about this…"

"I have a bad feeling right now, and it's in my stomach!"

Thor simply laughed again at his girlfriend's words as he continued to speed up. It wasn't long, though, before he had a frown on his face. He recognized the magic that was enveloping the city, and he knew where it was coming from. As such, it was only a matter of time before... _he_ arrived...

* * *

 ***Times Square. Midtown, Manhattan, New York City***

 **1049 GMT/3:49 PM EST, 4 May 2012**

* * *

"Y'know, when ya said ya couldn' save 'em," Wolverine yelled out as he snapped his arm back into place and got up, "I thought ya meant they were bein' killed, not bein' juiced up!" With a feral roar, he ran back into the battle, his claws unleashed.

It wasn't going good. The Enchantress, it seemed, hadn't actually killed the four men that Captain Marvel had seen as she had thought. In fact, it was the complete opposite; she had instead endowed them with power beyond imagination. The four men were wild about their newfound abilities, and eagerly chose to put them to the test against the heroes before them. They had even chosen their own monikers.

Wrecker, Piledriver, Bulldozer and Thunderball.

"Yeah, I know!" Carol yelled out as she and Piledriver exchanged echoing blows. "You kind of said that already!" She was a bit worried at the moment. It seemed that with their new abilities, these four guys could match her blow for blow. A far as she knew, there were not many people on the planet that could do so. This guy, Piledriver, was easily around her strength level ballpark, which was quite the shocking surprise.

"Give it up, sweetheart!" Piledriver laughed maniacally. "You can't beat us, now that we've got this new power!"

"Oh you did NOT just call me 'sweetheart,' you jackass!" Carol roared in reply, landing a devastating uppercut onto his chin. To her shock, it barely did anything, with the villain just shrugging it off.

"Oooh, I love the rough girls," he sneered. That earned him a vicious knee kick.

"Forget what she saw," Black Widow yelled out as she dodged another blow of Wrecker's crowbar. Hawkeye retaliated with a few explosive arrows to the villain's back, with him shrugging it off, barely phased.

Thunderball, meanwhile, was battling Spider Woman. He sung his newly powerful weapon at the British agent, who dodged it with ease, and countered with several venom blasts. "Is that really the best you can do?!" Thunderball laughed as he made to strike with his fist, only to miss and receive another barrage of venom blasts to the face.

"WHY WON'T YOU STAY STILL?!" Bulldozer roared as he came out of the hole he had created in the nearby Disney mega-store, having just tried to tackle Mockingbird. He was answered by Logan's claws to his back and Bobbi's staffs on his face. Piledriver roared in pain as he managed to grab the mutant and throw him into a nearby abandoned car. Mockingbird barely dodged the villain's fist as he made to strike, the blow creating a crater when it hit the street. The blonde huntress pole vaulted herself over his head, taking her staves and thrust the electrified tips into the wounds on Bulldozer's back, making him scream in agonizing pain.

The Enchantress and the Executioner, meanwhile, watched on as the heroes fought against the four new villains. The Executioner was as impassive as always, while the Enchantress with a smirk on her lips. With these heroes forced to deal with these new contenders, the Jotun were free to continue their merciless destruction across Times Square and the rest of Manhattan. Chaos and destruction were rampant left and right, while the human soldier tried to fight back. Their invasion was going well.

"Our lackeys are proving to be quite useful in this fight, after all," Amora mused.

Skurge grunted his agreement.

"Oh, come now Skurge," Amora said as she turned to him. "Loosen yourself a bit. Enjoy the carnage and rejoice that we shall soon have a world to rule."

Skurge looked her, silent and unmoving for a few seconds. Without removing his gaze, he took her arm and pulled her towards him. Amora didn't understand the motion until an energy blast flew past them, right where she had been standing moments ago.

Amora smirked as he released her arm. "Ever the silent guardian as always."

Skurge nodded.

"We need a plan here!" Hawkeye yelled out as he fired a net arrow at Wrecker, which was pitifully ripped to shreds. "Nothing we got is doing anything to them! Even Danvers isn't doing much, and she was supposed to be our ace in the hole!"

"Well then maybe you should just give up!" Wrecker yelled as he brought his crowbar down, slamming into the SHIELD agent and sending him flying into a nearby car.

"CLINT!" Mockingbird yelled in horror as she raced towards him. She quickly came to his side, only to be struck with a horrible sight, inducing tears of fear and horror. Barton's arms and leg were broken, shown by the awkward angles his limbs were at. His upper uniform was ripped and torn, with extreme bruising coloring his skin, and it appeared like multiple ribs were shattered. He was coughing up blood, and it looked like he was bleeding internally. His cowl was partially ripped, with his eyes and lips swelled and his nose broken.

"Oh, God, no, not you! Please, don't you leave me!" Bobbi cried as she tried to stop the bleeding in any way. "Please, Clint! Don't you dare die on me!" Her heart tore even more than it was already when Clint tried to speak, only to start choking on his own blood.

"You bloody son of a bitch!" Jess yelled in burning rage. She charged for the Wrecker, her fists glowing with bioelectricity, only to be slammed aside with his crowbar. Spider Woman crashed into a nearby store, her superhuman durability being the only reason that she had survived the blow, albeit with extreme bruising and pain. The others couldn't escape their current battles to help, leaving the Wrecker free as he made his way to the two SHIELD agents.

"Well, this sure don't look good for you, don't it?" he sneered, slapping his crowbar in his palm.

"I'll kill you, you bastard!" Bobbi yelled in anger, tears pouring down her face. She clung tightly to Clint as he lay there, slowly dying. "Do you hear me, you son of a bitch, I'll kill you!"

"Oh, please," Wrecker cackled. "What can _you_ do?! I've been given the power of gods! And if I got the power of gods, then that makes ME a god! It makes my buddies gods! That makes us stronger than you all! WE'RE THE STRONGEST ONES ON THE PLANET!"

 **KRAKABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!**

The entire immediate area of Midtown shook as something landed in Times Square, a large crater formed from impact. The entire battle stopped as hero and villain alike registered what just happened. Black Widow, Wolverine, Spider Woman and Captain Marvel were in shock and surprise, with Enchantress and Executioner filled with extreme surprise. Piledriver, Thunderball and Bulldozer found themselves filled with an instinctive drive of fear. Mockingbird found herself filled with a mix of relief and shock at the site of the being that now stood between herself and Hawkeye and the Wrecker. And the Wrecker found himself stupefied and then instinctively terrified at the monster before him, rage pumping in his muscles and a snarling smirk on his face.

Standing before him, cracking his knuckles, was the Incredible Hulk.

"You sure about that?!"

Before the Wrecker could even react, however, the Hulk had instantly landed a devastating hit onto his face, sending the villain flying into the nearby Toys-R-US superstore.

"HOLY-IT'S THE HULK!" Piledriver yelled out in shock and fear. "NO ONE TOLD US WE WERE GONNA FIGHT THE FREAKING HULK!"

"Now...time to smash," Hulk sneered as he attacked the nearby Bulldozer. With a roar, he jumped up and landed his signature 'Hulk Smash' blow on the villain, sending him crashing into the ground. Snapping out of their daze, Thunderball and Piledriver rushed over to the Hulk and joined in attack to help out their teammate. Thunderball succeeded in jumping onto the Hulk's back, wrapping his ball-&-chain around the incredible titan's neck, while Piledriver began punching away at the monster's lower torso. Bulldozer then came back charging, bum-rushing into Hulk's side.

Hulk roared violently, rage pumping through him as he grabbed Piledriver's head and threw him into Bulldozer. He then pulled violently at the chain around his neck before grabbing Thunderball's arms and threw him off, slamming him onto the ground at his feet. Throwing the ball-&-chain aside, the Hulk made to again deliver another smashing blow, only for the Wrecker to come back with a burning rage, slamming his crowbar against the Hulk's back. This only served to enrage the Hulk even more, the titan roaring violently as he began clashing again with the four villains.

"Is...is that the Hulk?!" Spider Woman exclaimed.

"Isn't he supposed to be in the Raft?" Natalia asked.

"WHO CARES?!" Logan yelled. "BARTON IS DYING, REMEMBER?!" That brought them back to their senses and they all rushed to where a sobbing Bobbi cradled Clint's dying form.

"Oh my god!" Natalia gasped. She soon felt tears stinging at her own eyes at the sight of one of her closest friends in such pain and how badly his body was broken. Jess gasped in horror, with Logan and Carol shocked at the sight.

"We got to do something, anything!" Bobbi exclaimed.

"Kid…" Logan tried to say.

"NO! Don't give me that bullshit, Logan! I won't let him die!"

"Bobbi!" Carol yelled as she grabbed her shoulder. "I don't want him to die either, but look around you! WE'RE AT WAR! We can't let our emotions get-!"

"You don't get to talk to me about emotions," Bobbi spat back, instantly silencing the human-Kree hybrid. "You don't get to do that, Carol."

"Guys..." Clint managed to gasp, bringing attention back to him. He tried to move his broken arm, wanting to clasp his lover's hand, but failed painfully, making Bobbi cringe at his painful sounds. "Bobbi...baby…"

"No," she cried, holding him tighter. "Don't...I won't let you die, Clint."

"Perhaps, I can help," a female accented voice said. They turned to see a woman in deep red clothing approach them hurriedly. "I think I can help him."

"Wanda?" Logan asked with surprise.

"Hello, Logan," she replied.

"...As in the Scarlet Witch?" Jessica asked with caution.

"She's been reformed for a few years now," Logan assured.

"Along with Pietro," Wanda said. A sonic boom then rang out, causing the heroes to turn back to where the Hulk was battling the newly created villains. They saw the former Brotherhood member Quicksilver fighting them alongside the Hulk, along with another familiar figure known to the world.

"Is that the Black Panther?" Natalia asked with surprise. SHIELD intelligence had confirmed that the Wakandan monarch had come to America to turn down the proposed ambassador the Cooper administration wanted to send to Wakanda. The Russian wouldn't have expected the king to join in the war.

"It is," the Scarlet Witch nodded. "We had helped him defend the Wakandan Embassy earlier."

"They need our help," Carol said, her fists glowing as she got up. "Scarlet Witch, you sure you can help Hawkeye?"

"Yes, I am pretty sure."

"Then let's make sure nothing interrupts her," Captain Marvel replied, her military persona taking over.

"Agreed," Widow said, reloading her M27. "Let's show these _pridurki_ that we don't take kindly to invaders."

Meanwhile, Wrecker, Piledriver, Thunderball and Bulldozer were doing their best to take on the Hulk, and it wasn't easy at all. His strength was increasing with every blow they landed on him, and he was crushing them. The four villains dealt punches, kicks, weapon smashes, blows, haymakers...anything they could think of, and the Hulk just shrugged it off. They had power as granted by gods, as Wrecker said earlier, but the Hulk was a being of near unrivaled strength. He smashed, punched and smashed his way through the four of them, unrelenting and vicious against his enemies.

The fact that Quicksilver and the Black Panther were also helping him wasn't making it any easier for the villains. With his unparalleled speed and agility, Quicksilver could easily deal out thousands of blows in a single minute. With the constantly building momentum behind those hits empowering them, it was as if they were being hit by the Hulk again. The Panther's vibranium claws and daggers stung at them like Wolverine's claws, slashing away at them. His agility and fighting skills were also a force to be reckoned with; even though he didn't have strength like theirs, he knew just where to place strike, his knowledge of various fighting styles coming to light.

"This is crazy!" Thunderball yelled out! "We was winning five minutes ago, and now we're getting our asses handed to us!"

"Maybe you should take the hint and surrender," Quicksilver smirked.

"Or we could smash you some more," Hulk snarled gleefully, pounding his fist into Piledriver's face. "That works, too."

"Sounds like a plan to me!" Captain Marvel said as she, Black Widow, Wolverine and Spider Woman joined the three heroes.

"This...doesn't look good," Piledriver said uneasily as he and his three allies backed up slowly.

Enchantress frowned. "Hmm...this has been an unexpected change of events. Especially with that green monster. Executioner...deal with him."

The silent warrior nodded, and his stoic face turned into a sinister smirk. His ax began to glow red and orange, giving off an extreme amount of heat. With an unearthly war cry that brought all eyes onto him, he jumped up towards the Hulk, viciously struck him down with his axe. The titan roared in a mixture of rage and pain as his flesh began burning, a deep gashing wound on his chest bleeding. The Executioner then bum-rushed the incredible titan, and with a resonating boom, the two beings crashed into the giant Bank of America building.

The four villains may have had the power of gods...but the Executioner, an Asgardian, was an actual god.

The two got up and shrugged off the impact. The Hulk snarled angrily as he sized up his newest opponent, his wound sealing itself. The Executioner, it seemed, was a being of strength comparable to his own, a feat few on the planet were capable of.

"You want to get smashed, too, then?" Hulk snarled. His only answer was a silent battle stance and an ax that glowed orange with flames. "Then...HULK SMASH!"

The sounds of the battle echoed for dozens of blocks, both titans crashing back outside. The building around them rumbled and broke apart as the two powerful beings exchanged punches and strikes. Executioner found himself relishing the battle, faced with an opponent that could match him physically. The Hulk continuously threw punch after punch, to which Skurge repaid in full with his own fists as well as his flaming weapon. The roars of the Hulk echoed across the skies as they two grew more vicious.

Wrecker, Piledriver, Thunderball and Bulldozer, meanwhile, were busy fighting the other heroes once again. With the Hulk out of the picture for now, they only had to worry about Captain Marvel and Quicksilver as the most dangerous threats to them now.

Enchantress smirked as she watched the scenes before her. Then suddenly, her magical senses shuddered. Her hands began glowing as she looked in the direction where Wrecker had broken Hawkeye.

She sensed a powerful form of magic nearby.

Meanwhile, the Scarlet Witch was preparing to heal Hawkeye, "This is going to hurt him a bit," Wanda said as she held onto Hawkeye's shoulder, her hands glowing pink and the energy enveloping the archer. "But since he's already in pain, that's kind of redundant."

At that, Wanda closed her eyes began muttering incantations of a language unknown to Bobbi. Suddenly, her eyes opened again, but where completely pink-red, pupils and all. Clint began yelling out in pain, spitting out more blood. Bobbi cringed in horror at the sight, almost crying out for Scarlet Witch to stop...until she saw the broken arms begin to heal and snap back into place. Bobbi soon realized that Clint's body was healing. The blood disappeared and his limbs were soon restored. Before long, Clint Barton was happily moving his arms, fingers and leg as he was fully healed.

"Oh, God, I am never taking these babies for granted ever agaaoomph!" he began to say, only to be interrupted by Bobbi's lips on his, her passion shutting down all function in his brain. Wanda smiled as she got up, happy that she had managed to save his life.

"Don't ever scare me like that again," Mockingbird gasped as she ended her kiss, helping Clint get up.

"I'll try not to," he smirked as he flexed his arms and fingers. Readying his bow and arrow, he then turned to the former mutant terrorist. "Thanks, Wanda. What was that?"

"Probability manipulation," she replied. "It's my power. I am also well-versed in arcane arts, so I added a bit of that."

"T'was very powerful, indeed."

The three heroes spun around to see Amora the Enchantress walking towards them, her hand aglow with green magical energy. The trio immediately got into a battle stance, readying themselves to fight.

"That was magic unlike anything I have seen in all the Asgardian realms," Amora continued, an amused smirk on her lips. "And such power doesn't belong to a lowly mortal such as yourself."

"And I suppose you deserve it?" Wanda replied, arching her eyebrow, her own hand glowing again with arcane hex energy.

"Quite so...as does Lord Loki," Enchantress smirked. "And I _will_ take it from you, wench, make no mistake. And there is nothing you can do to stop me!" With that, Amora fired a powerful magical blast at the three heroes. What she didn't expect was for Wanda to conjure chaos fields in time to protect herself and the other two from the blasts.

"Both of you help the others," Scarlet Witch told Hawkeye and Mockingbird, her eyes never leaving the Asgardian. "I will handle this one." Hawkeye and Bobbi nodded before they dashed off with weapons in hand to join the others. This left Wanda and Amora alone against each other. The two sorceresses began circling each other, their hands glowing vibrantly with hex and magical energy. Enchantress suddenly struck first, firing a barrage of magic blasts at Wanda, only for Wanda to again raise chaos shields to protect herself.

"You wish to take my power?!" Wanda yelled, conjuring hex spheres all around herself. "Then try to take it, witch!" The hex spheres threw themselves at the Enchantress with a wave of her arm, bombarding the villainess and making her scream from the chaotic effects that started to plague her. In rage, she unleashed a surge of her green magic energy in a wave, forcing back the hexes. Amora then fired magic blasts, which Wanda countered with her own hex blasts. The witch and the sorceress began an exchange of blasts and spells, battling with their all to prove who was the stronger of the two.

Meanwhile, the Hulk was finding that he was in a surprising situation. The Executioner, while he could mostly match the Hulk blow for blow, was not as strong as he was. The Asgardian, however, more than made up for this in his skills in close quarters combat. He was very apt with his ax, shown by the slashes on Hulk's body before they healed up quickly. This didn't hinder the incredible titan, though. The Hulk landed a devastating right hook on Skurge's cheek, forcing him to stagger back and opening a point for Hulk to follow up with a haymaker, sending the Executioner crashing onto the ground. Hulk made to smash him with both hands, but Skurge caught both arms with his hands, snapping his leg into a powerful kick that sent Hulk staggering back. The Asgardian then began slashing away with his ax once more, managing to get a vicious hit on the Hulk's chest. As green blood oozed out even when the scar began to heal, Hulk unleashed a vicious roar and a thunderclap, sending the Executioner flying into the McDonald's superstore. Hulk jumped after him with a smashing hit ready, and the impact echoed for miles.

Captain Marvel landed a devastating combo of right hooks, uppercuts and roundhouse kicks on Piledriver. This dazed the villain enough to allow Spider Woman to land a barrage of venom blasts on the villain's face. "How do you like it now, jackass?!" she yelled.

Wolverine and Black Panther struck continuously at Thunderball and Bulldozer, unrelenting in their attacks and combining their efforts to keep the villains unbalanced and off their game. Their claws worked in unison to strike at the two villains.

Wrecker, meanwhile, was holding his own against Quicksilver and Black Widow. It was clear that he was the strongest of the four villains, and the most dangerous. His crowbar had left craters in the streets as he tried to hit the faster and more agile Pietro and Natalia. While Pietro's powerful punches would hurt, he could easily shrug off Natalia's stinger blasts and bullets.

"C'mon, sweetheart!" he yelled as he barely missed hitting the Russian with his crowbar. "Give it up, you can't hurt me! How about you let me show you a good time!?"

"I got a better idea!" Hawkeye's voice rang out as he and Mockingbird joined the fray, to the joy of the others. "How about I show you what happens when you try to kill me!" The archer fired an arrow right at the Wrecker's eye, and it pierced it easily. Wrecker roared in vicious agony as his hand went for his now bleeding eye.

Mockingbird then jumped up, her battle staves crackling with electricity at the tips, and slammed the tips of both into Wrecker's injured eye. This made the villain scream in pain even more, his skin and eye burning. Swinging blindly, he missed Mockingbird as she jumped away. Hawkeye quickly fired a pair of explosive arrows at the Wrecker's feet, the explosions making him fall with a crashing thud to the ground.

"Looks like Wanda fixed you up pretty good," Natalia shouted with a smile as she fired her stingers at Thunderball.

"Yep," Barton grinned as he and Mockingbird continued to attack Wrecker. "Good as new!"

"And where is Wanda?!" Pietro asked.

"Um, she's facing off against the lady in green!" Bobbi replied, briefly gesturing to the two magic users battling a block over.

"YIELD, MORTAL!" Amora yelled angrily as she continued her assault, throwing a slew of energy blasts at the mutant.

"I've never backed down against what the world threw against me," Wanda retorted as she shielded herself and retaliated with hex spheres. "I'm not going to start now!" Wanda then began unleashing her telekinesis, sending debris from the destruction all around them slamming into the Enchantress, forcing her back. The witch quickly tried to erect magical shields to protect herself, but then found herself blasted by hex spheres as she tried.

"Executioner! To me!" Amora yelled out as she tried to shield herself. She was answered by Skurge being thrown viciously into Bulldozer, both flying right into the middle of Times Square with a crash.

"Hmm, not so strong, after all," Hulk muttered as he came out of the crater he and Skurge were fighting in. His body was covered gashes and cuts from Executioner's blade, all in the process of healing.

Carol just then landed a devastating ax kick on Piledriver's head, followed by another uppercut. With a yell, Carol unleashed two energy blasts and sent Piledriver crashing into the nearby theater. "Well…" she said, panting slightly. " _That_ took forever and a day."

She then saw that Wanda was still in battle with Enchantress, and smirked devilishly. "Oh, this is going to be good." With that, she flew right at the villainess and landed a haymaker on her jaw, sending Amora flying into a nearby abandoned bus. Captain Marvel immediately followed up with a photon blast, making the villainess scream in pain.

"PAYBACK TIME, BITCH!" Carol yelled. Before Amora could try to retaliate, Wanda bombarded her with a pair of hex bolts.

"This isn't going good, guys!" Thunderball yelled as he did his best to block all the hits Wolverine, Panther and Spider Woman where landing on him.

"GEE, YA THINK?!" Wrecker yelled as he blindly swung at Mockingbird and Widow. "I'M FUCKING BLIND IN ONE EYE, FRANKLIN!"

"Everyone, get together, now!" Captain Marvel yelled out as she unleashed a barrage of photon blasts at the four new villains. The assembled heroes quickly closed ranks and made a passive aggressive formation, ready to both defend and attack in an instant. Wrecker, Piledriver, Thunderball and Bulldozer stood warily as they slowly closed ranks themselves, with the Executioner helping the Enchantress back to her feet.

"Every minute we spent focused on them, those creatures continue to wreak havoc across the island," Black Panther noted, his daggers ready. "We cannot afford to delay this any longer with millions of lives in danger."

"Agreed," Pietro nodded.

"Then let's stop this already," Logan growled.

"You mortals continue to fight against us...we are your superiors in every way!" Enchantress spat back in anger, her hands glowing. "You cannot hope to stop what is to come!"

"Well, we did just manhandle you all a few seconds ago," Hawkeye grinned, arrows trained on her, Wrecker and Thunderball. "Especially the Scarlet Witch here."

"We won't surrender," Natalia said, her M27 trained on Piledriver. "No matter what you throw at us, or how many of these creatures you bring with you! We will fight to stop you, and even if we fall, others across the planet will stand in your way."

"We're offering you one chance only," Captain Marvel added, her hands aglow. "You call off your attack dogs from destroying the city now, and leave!"

"Never!" Enchantress replied with a yell. "Our invasion cannot be stopped. We shall not surrender. It is you who will fall under our superior might and endless numbers, and it is this world that shall fall. And your power will be mine to take, mortal!" she added to Wanda. "Executioner!"

Skurge quickly took his ax and charged towards the heroes...only to be struck from above by a powerful blue energy blast. With a sonic-like whine, the blast hit Skurge with enough force to send him staggering and slamming back into the ground. Missiles reigned from the skies and exploded on the villain, sending him falling to the ground.

With the whine of repulsors, Iron Man, Yellowjacket and Wasp touched down on the ground and joined the others.

"You really should listen to the lady," Stark smirked as he readied his repulsors, uni-beam and other weapons. Yellowjacket grew to 10 feet and took up a battle stance while Jan's fists glowed with her stinger energy.

"So the shell-head is in this, too," Natalia mused with a smirk.

"You expected anything less?" the billionaire replied. "Legolas; still with the corny costume, I see."

"Finally changed the color scheme, I see," Barton replied, his eyes not leaving their enemies.

"Hey, Carol," Wasp said with a smile.

"Hey, Jan," the Captain replied.

"So I'm assuming these guys are the source of what's going on?" Pym asked.

"You betcha, bub," Logan snarled.

"Ready to give up now?" Hulk snarled at their enemies, cracking his knuckles.

Wrecker, Piledriver, Thunderball and Bulldozer looked at the heroes before them with worry and unease. Executioner was struggling to get up, using his ax for support, and seething rage in his eyes. But everyone was surprised when Amora began laughing...then cackling.

"Ok...I know I just showed up," Stark mused, "but I have the feeling that this doesn't seem good."

"Oh you silly mortals," she sneered. "You've already lost. I am going to take the witch's powers, but the rest of you...you will suffer a fate worse than death by Dark Elves." In her mind, she relayed a message: "My Lord, I believe we shall make use of our secret weapon, after all."

' _Excellent, my Enchantress.'_

Amora then began swirling their hand, energy forming at her fingertips. The heroes immediately tensed, ready for an incoming magical attack. They were surprised, however, when she instead shot the energy into the ground between the two groups. The magical energies swirled before it began rising in height, and soon it spawned into what appeared to be another portal; a rather large portal. The heroes readied themselves for whatever would come out, with the Warriors, Logan and Carol wondering if another Jotunheim Beast was about to come out.

"Today, mortals...you will face destruction incarnate!" Amora yelled out.

A metallic echoing rumbling came from the portal. Then, slowly, something lumbered out of it…a rather large, metallic and faceless something. It stood almost ten feet tall, even taller than the Incredible Hulk It was a figure completely coated in grey and silver metallic plating, with spikes ran across its spine and knuckles. On its head was no face, but what appeared to be a furnace grate-like visor. With a metallic roar, it began lumbering towards the heroes.

"What the hell is that?!" Pietro yelled in shock.

"Some kind of machine," Stark replied. "I got this. JARVIS, scan, ID and search for all mechanics to find a way shut it down."

'Error,' JARVIS replied almost immediately. 'Unable to locate any mechanics or machinery within armor. Analyses shows that this isn't a machine, sir. It is a living self-sustaining suit of armor,'

"Oh...that is not good," Stark said. "Wait, you said it's self-sustaining? As in it moves on its own free will?! I've been trying to create armor like that for months! This is amaz-!"

"Who cares?!" Hulk snarled. "IT'S GETTING SMASHED!" Before the other heroes reacted, the titan roared as he jumped up and made to attack the armor, his fists aimed for a devastating haymaker.

 **FWOOOARRRROOOWWMMM!**

To the shock and horror of the heroes, the Incredible Hulk never stood a chance.

The armor's visor suddenly opened up, and when it did, it shot a devastating blast of flaming energy right at the Hulk, dead center in his chest. The pure force of the blast sent the Hulk flying dozens of blocks away, sending him crashing through dozens of buildings. His roars of extreme pain echoed across Midtown, the energy literally eating away and burning at his highly durable skin, the blast burning through his flesh. The armor finally ended its attack, and then it turned towards the other heroes.

"OH MY GOD!" Wanda yelled out.

"Um...that is really not good!" Carol said. "That thing just took out our heaviest gun!"

Amora cackled mercilessly. "Now you shall meet your doom, mortals, at the hands of the Destroyer!"

* * *

 _ **XXXX**_

 _ **TO BE CONTINUED…**_

* * *

 _ **Notes:**_

 _ **Maria Hill: her uniform is the same as her "Marvel Disk Wars: Avengers" version's uniform.**_

 _ **Helicarriers. The Helicarriers in this continuity are the same as the Helicarriers of the MCU pre-CA:TWS, equipped and powered with ARC-Reactors. SHIELD currently has nine in service, with four being prepped for service & deployment. Project: Insight is also existent in this continuity.**_


	4. Assemble! Part 4

Chapter 4: Assemble! Part 4

* * *

 ***Daily Bugle Offices, Flatiron Building. Flatiron District, Manhattan, New York***

 **1117 GMT/4:17 PM EST, 4 May 2012**

* * *

"PARKER!"

"He's not here!"

"THEN WHO THE HELL IS SUPPOSED TO TAKE PHOTOS OF WHAT'S GOING ON OUT THERE?!"

"ARE YOU FREAKING SERIOUS?!"

The offices of the Daily Bugle may have been on the top floors of the building, but that didn't mean that it was safe from any danger at all. The Flatiron Building shook and rumbled again as the Frost Giants continued to lay waste to the city. A few of them were bashing into the infrastructure repeatedly, and smashing away with their weapons, one even trying to climb up the building. Across the entire floor, employees were screeching and screaming and panicking away, terrified for their very lives as the damaged continued to rein across the island of Manhattan.

"We're facing an invasion of giant aliens!" Joseph "Robbie" Robertson yelled to his boss. "It's the end of the damn world, and you're worried about getting pictures of what's going on, of all things?! Are you _trying_ to send a young man to his death out there?!"

This made J. Jonah Jameson, editor-in-chief of the Daily Bugle and New York's largest advocate against the Amazing Spider-Man, stop and think for a minute. Sure, he could be mean, a hardass, arrogant beyond belief and sometimes a jackass, but he wasn't heartless. Sending a photographer into the carnage out there _probably_ wasn't exactly the smartest of ideas…

"Sir!" a brunette woman in her early thirties yelled as she came into Jameson's office. She then cringed as the explosions occurring outside rocked the building.

"What is it, Ms. Brant?!" the editor yelled out.

"I just got a call from Peter's aunt!" Betty Brant replied. "She's watching the news about what's going on and she's horrified! She wants to know if Peter's ok!"

At those words, Jameson suddenly froze and gulped. He quickly turned to Robbie, frantically yelling, "HOW THE HELL DO I TELL HER I HAVE NO IDEA WHERE HE IS?!" That old woman terrified him. He still vividly remembered that day 10 years ago, when he first hired Parker...

A small part of the editor suddenly found himself hoping the creatures would find a way up into the offices...

* * *

 ***Times Square. Midtown, Manhattan, New York City***

 **1123 GMT/4:23 PM EST, 4 May 2012**

* * *

"Anyone have a plan here?!" Hawkeye yelled out as he fired a volley of explosive arrows at the giant metallic juggernaut. The arrows made their violent impact, but they did nothing whatsoever except shroud their new opponent's head and shoulders in a mass of smoke. The marksman then saw the titan turn towards him, and barely evading the energy blast shot at him.

Captain Marvel, Iron Man, Spider Woman and the Wasp then began firing repeatedly at the unstoppable juggernaut. Their blasts, however, procured the same results as Hawkeye's attack, and they also had to quickly duck out of the way of the devastating energy blast now shot at them.

The Wolverine then struck from behind, jumping onto the metallic being's back, viciously slashing away. To his extreme frustration, however, his adamantium claws didn't even graze the armor, not even leaving any scratches. The juggernaut then grabbed the mutant from its back and flung him aside, just as both Yellowjacket and Wasp began wrestling with it.

"Wanda, we could use a little help here!" Logan yelled.

"I'm a bit occupied here!" the mutant yelled back from the other side of the block, sending a flurry of hex spheres towards the Enchantress.

For the last twenty minutes, the group of heroes had found themselves being devastatingly outmatched by their new enemy, the Destroyer. The Enchantress had called it "destruction incarnate," and they could see that those words fit it quite well. The surrounding buildings had been laid to waste, the energy blasts from the Destroyer having basically wiped them out of existence. It was all that most of the heroes could do to keep out of range from the Destroyer's blasts.

Their biggest problem, however, was the fact that the Destroyer was completely impervious to all of their attacks. Even when they combined their efforts, the attacks of the heroes were completely ineffective as the Destroyer shrugged off all their attempts to fell it. Not only that, it also displayed extreme levels of strength, throwing the 20 ft forms of both Yellowjacket and Wasp aside at once with ease. It also slammed Captain Marvel into the ground with a metallic punch, the force behind the attack making her scream in pain.

All the while, Enchantress was engaged in a vicious battle of magic and arcane arts with the Scarlet Witch. When the Destroyer began its assault on the group of heroes, the Enchantress had viciously attacked Wanda, forcing her to be separated from the rest. Both exchanged barrages of magical blasts and spells, each trying to gain the upper hand of the other. Wanda was fighting with much on her shoulder; the fact that Amora apparently wanted to take her own power for herself was more than enough motivation to keep Wanda fighting. She wasn't going to let something like that happen again.

Meanwhile, the Executioner was watching the battles from the sideline. Wrecker, Piledriver, Bulldozer and Thunderball stood alongside him, watching the battle. They were uncertain why they weren't joining in on the fight; wasn't that why they had been given these powers, after all?

"Hey, man, shouldn't we be, you know, joining in the fight?" the half-blind Wrecker asked the Asgardian.

Silence was his only answer.

"Um...look, man, I know they're getting their asses kicked by your giant robot, but still, maybe we should join in...?"

Still no answer.

"Screw him, man," Bulldozer said as he walked forward. "Let's just join in! Power of the gods, remember?! We just go in and whoop-!" He was silenced by Skurge's axe suddenly thrust in front of him as he tried to pass the Asgardian.

"We enter battle," the Executioner snarled, "when we are needed in battle."

"...right, right, got it," Bulldozer said, rightfully unnerved; the fact that the Executioner was able to walk away from a fight with the Hulk was still fresh in his mind.

Back in the battle, Quicksilver raced up towards the Destroyer and began creating a vortex around it as it continued to advance. Going faster and faster, the mutant thought he could successfully entrap the behemoth in the vortex and force it into the air with the suction. That plan completely backfired as the Destroyer unleashed another devastating blast of energy right at the ground. The explosion completely took the speedster by surprise, forcing him to skid to a stop, the speed sending him flying towards. Yellowjacket then attacked from behind, grabbing it from behind as he grew to its height, grabbing its arms and trying to force its head down. This backfired completely as the Destroyer somehow turned every joint in its body around so that it was now facing Pym. The scientist barely had time to shrink down to avoid the energy attack meant for his face. Captain Marvel and Iron Man then bum-rushed the Destroyer together, and they managed to force the juggernaut back a couple of steps. This was only a tiny respite as the Destroyer whacked them aside.

"So, this looks like it's going pretty bad!" Wasp called out.

"No kidding!" Hawkeye yelled out, both him and Black Widow firing at the Destroyer. "We need to get it off-balanced!"

"And how do ya plan to do that!?" Logan called out.

"I think I have an idea!" Stark yelled back before he turned to Carol. "Captain Marvel, absorbing energy makes you stronger and your attacks more so, right?"

"Yeah, why?" the heroine yelled.

"Let's see how heavy you can dish out when you absorb my repulsors and uni-beam!" the billionaire replied.

Carol quickly understood. "Do it!" With that, Stark bombarded the heroine with his energy weapons. Carol's body instinctively absorbed the blasts; she felt her body tingling, flowing and gushing with the adrenaline and power. Her body began glowing vibrantly, her eyes disappearing in it.

"Wasp, Spider Woman, Yellowjacket! Shoot your blasts at Captain Marvel!" the billionaire called out. The three quickly complied, with Carol feeling even more of a power surge, her body getting even brighter. "Captain, NOW!"

With a yell, Carol channeled all the energy she was receiving into her hands, and she fired one of the most powerful blasts she had unleashed in her life. The impact sound of the blast echoed for miles as it collided with the Destroyer's armor. The titan staggered back against the sudden force.

"Holy crap, it's working!" Bobbi yelled.

"JARVIS, increase arc output by 50%!" Stark ordered. The AI did as instructed and Carol felt even more empowered.

"THIS IS WORKING!" she yelled. For a few moments, they thought that they had actually managed to find a way to defeat the Destroyer. "Stark, you're idea's working! We might actually-!"

"Captain, it's still coming!" Quicksilver yelled suddenly. To her horror, Carol saw he was right. The Destroyer had only been momentarily caught off guard, and now was walking in her direction, ignoring her enhanced photon blasts as if she were merely shooting water at it.

"Hawkeye and Widow, with me!" Iron Man yelled out as he stopped firing on Captain Marvel, flying to outflank it. "Wolverine, Panther, Quicksilver and Mockingbird, attack from behind! Jan, Hank and Spider Woman, attack from the other flank! Captain Marvel, keep firing!"

The heroes quickly responded, attacking the Destroyer from all sides. They attacked with a frenzy, but the Destroyer was unfazed, with none of their attacks doing anything. Instead, it then shot another energy blast, this time in a circular wave motion at the other heroes, who either were sent flying back from the impact force or were forced to fly out of the way.

The Scarlet Witch turned towards the battle against the Destroyer, her concern for her brother and allies overtaking her. This was all the distraction that Amora the Enchantress needed; she fired a rather painful blast of magic at Wanda, too quick for the mutant to see until too late. Wanda fell onto her knees, her body cringing in pain.

"Your compassion for the mortals proves to be your downfall, witch," Amora smirked as she approached Wanda. "You, with such power in your hands, could rule the mortals. Instead, you attempt to fit in with them, protect them; that is why such power doesn't belong in your hands. You will fall before me, and with your power and magics, my Lord shall rule not just Midgard, but all the nine Asgardian Realms!"

"Is everyone ok?" Stark yelled out from the skies as he flew back down, trying to find his allies amongst the chunks of debris. He was eased in seeing Captain Marvel and Quicksilver emerge from several chunks.

"We're good here," Logan replied as he, Morse and T'Challa got out of the building they crashed in. The Pyms and Jess had managed to fly away from the Destroyer's blast in time. Barton had been thrust back from the impact force, but was ok.

"I'm alright," Natalia called out, slowly standing from being slammed into a nearby car. She could feel blood on her head from a long cut, with another on her lips and she felt at least several cracked ribs, but other than that, she was fine. "We need to come up with another-"

"Widow, watch out!" Clint yelled out. Natalia immediately looked up to see the Destroyer lumbering towards her, just several feet away. It was preparing to fire another devastating blast. Even with the Red Room serum pumping in her veins, the former assassin knew that there was no way for her to dodge the blast in time. Seeing no escape, the Black Widow stared defiantly at the metallic behemoth, her stingers bursting with electrical energy.

"C'mon, tin can," she muttered in Russian. "Do your worst."

The Destroyer's visor opened, its scorching energy amassing from within...

"HULK SMASH ROBOT!"

 **CRAKAKABOOOOMM!**

A thunderous boom rang out as the Incredible Hulk reappeared at last, rejoining the battle, and he….was...MAD.

The Hulk smashed the Destroyer directly into the ground, a large boom ringing out across the skies. The ground shook as the titan began a savage barrage of powerful punches, his rage boiling within him. Unbeknownst to the heroes, the Destroyer was forged to withstand any and all blows and impact and force. Its armor was enchanted to withstand hits from the Goddess of War, from the God of Thunder…even from the All-Father himself. The magic behind the armor made it resilient to just about anything. The Incredible Hulk, however, was a being made of science and technology, and the madder Hulk got, the stronger Hulk got...strong enough to actually give the Destroyer a run for its money. Hulk continued his brutal assault, each blow more earth-shattering than the last. With a roar, he picked it up by the head and threw it right into the Times Square Jumbotron, with an electrifying and thunderous explosion.

Enchantress saw this and straightened up in shock. This was all Wanda needed to get the upper hand and blast Amora in the face with a powerful hex blast. "Don't turn your back on you opponent, Enchantress," the mutant snarled tauntingly.

Executioner formed a smirk, his axe gripped tightly in his hand. "Now, mortals…now we enter the battle."

"Against HIM?" Thunderball exclaimed, gesturing to the Hulk.

"Do you wish to rule this world by Loki's side?"

"Well, yeah…" Piledriver said.

Skurge's reply was a simple war cry as he leapt at the Hulk once more, slamming the blade into his shoulder. With a ferocious roar, the titan grabbed the Asgardian and slammed him into the ground. Before he could do anything else, though, the Hulk was bum-rushed by Wrecker, Piledriver, Bulldozer and Thunderball.

"Seriously?!" Wasp yelled out, hands on her hips. "Why is it they always have to take the Hulk-?!"

 **FRABOOM!**

The other heroes turned in surprise as the Destroyer jumped down from the Jumbotron remains onto the streets with a vicious impact. It raised its faceless head at them, and the visor began to glow orange again. They barely managed to get out of the way as it unleashed its hell, destroying the central area of Times Square. Wasp and Yellowjacket quickly shrank in size, swiftly firing their bio-stingers and energy blasts at the Destroyer, but to no avail.

Mockingbird, Hawkeye and Natalia raced for cover behind some debris, with Barton and Natalia quickly firing again at the Destroyer from their position. "This is insane!" Morse called out. "Nothing we throw at this thing seems to work! We can't even scratch it! Stark, you're supposed to be the robot expert! Figure something out, dammit!"

"I'm trying to, Mockingbird!" Stark replied as he flew into the air, firing his uni-beam at the Destroyer. It was unfazed, and Stark had to quickly evade its energy blast. "But this isn't any kind of robot; it's somehow a self-sustaining, living suit of armor! There's no network systems to hack, no programming, no circuitry or hardware, nothing! I've tried everything; my scans aren't coming up with anything! I still can't even analyze what kind of metal this thing is made out of! All I can tell is that it's even stronger than vibranium and adamantium!"

" _We_ could have told you that, Iron Man," Panther replied. Logan chuckled dryly at that.

"The only one of us actually able to do something to it is the Hulk!" Carol called out, landing a sideways kick on the Destroyer's head. "Problem with that is he's kind of busy right now! We need to get those jackasses away from him, give him the chance to take care of it! Hulk has to lead it away from here, maybe off of the isl-!"

 **SCRAAAAKAAAFOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMM!**

"AAAAAAUUUUGHHHHH!"

"CAROL!" Jessica yelled out in horror. "NOOOOO!" The other heroes found themselves ridden with shock and horror at the sight before them.

Captain Marvel, one of the most powerful superhumans on the planet, was devastated by a direct hit from the Destroyer's energy blast. Carol's screams and roars of pain were like nothing any of them had heard before, almost feral like. The force and monstrous blast of the impact sent the heroine flying into the streets, a crater forming from her impact as the Destroyer continued to unleash its energy attack on her. Logan had to restrain Spider Woman from racing onto the scene herself.

The Destroyer continued its relentless assault, lumbering forward as it kept firing. Soon, Carol's screams grew weaker and weaker until they stopped completely. The others couldn't see anything as smoke billowed from the crater, right from where Captain Marvel had been slammed. The others were shocked and stunned at what happened before them. Even the Hulk and the Scarlet Witch were torn away from their fights, shocked at what they had seen.

The Destroyer had slain one of their own.

"TAKE IT DOWN!" Iron Man yelled out, and at that, the other heroes rushed forward, unadulterated fury in their eyes. Their opponent had felled one of their own, and that would not go unpunished, no matter what. However, even with their anger fueling them in their attacks and assaults, everything they threw at the Destroyer still just bounced off. They swarmed the Destroyer, and yet nothing worked in their favor.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" Wolverine roared.

Suddenly, the Destroyer whacked Iron Man aside, sending him flying into a nearby building with tremendous crash. Spider Woman, Black Widow and Hawkeye began firing at the metallic juggernaut again, but were forced to dodge as it threw a 20 ft tall Yellowjacket in their direction. It then unleashed another energy blast, forcing Wolverine, Mockingbird and Black Panther to judge out of the way. The Destroyer then turned towards Wasp as she attempted to deliver a haymaker, catching her fist and forcibly slammed her into the ground. It then began amassing another energy blast, aiming at Wasp as she struggled to get up.

"JAN!" Pym yelled out in fear. Jan was frozen in fear, her mind unable to react as the Destroyer readied to kill her.

 **KRAPOOOOOOW!**

An echoing impact suddenly rang out for miles as the Destroyer was suddenly struck by a vibrantly glowing force. To the heroes' shock, it was actually sent flying into the skies, crashing into the top of the New Year's Ball perch.

The heroes rushed to where Jan got up, Pym quickly making sure his wife was ok. They then turned to and were all shocked; floating before them was a glowing Captain Marvel, billowing with smoke. The glowed from every inch of her body, the most vibrantly from her fists. She actually gave off a bit of heat. Her eyes were no longer visible, with only white light coming from their sockets. On her face was a grin, and a very devious grin at that.

"Whoa…" Hawkeye muttered.

"Carol?" Jess asked. She made to come forward before the Black Panther stopped her.

"Captain Marvel," he asked. "Are you...alright?"

"Am I ok?!" Carol yelled in glee as she flew up into the air. "I HAVEN'T FELT LIKE THIS SINCE I WAS BINARY! That blasts has so much energy in it...it's fucking AMAZING! I've never felt this strong for years!" Indeed, the all-powerful energy blasts of the Destroyer had not done any harm to Carol at all, except for the initial impact of force. On the contrary, her body started to absorb the energy, near-incomparable power surging through her body. It was as if Carol had drunk an entire tub of pure adrenaline. "I feel like I can take on the entire Kree army a hundred times over!"

Their attention suddenly turned to the sound of a heavy impact. The Destroyer had jumped down from where it had been blasted, landing back onto the Times Square area with a monstrous boom. Its faceless head turned towards the heroes, its visor lowering in preparation for another energy blast.

"Well," Iron Man replied, "how about the next best thing?"

Carol grinned evilly. "Oh, yeah, baby."

 **FAKRAKABOOOOOOM!**

With another powerful impact, Captain Marvel slammed right into the Destroyer. She sent it crashing through the ground, past the subway tunnels and into the sewage system, dealing haymaker after haymaker. Grabbing it by the neck, she then threw it into the skies through the hole both had made, firing a barrage of newly empowered and devastating photon blasts. Each strike hit the Destroyer with a powerful boom. Flying faster, she out sped the flying form of the titan and once it was close enough, she dealt a devastating ax kick, sending it smashing into the ground with a resonating boom.

"I'll handle the Destroyer!" Carol yelled to her allies as she dealt a combo of right hooks and face punches. "Help the Hulk!"

Amora was stupefied by the spectacle before her; merely moments ago, the mortals were being annihilated by the Destroyer. All of a sudden, the tables had been turned. The flying female with the star on her chest had somehow absorbed the Destroyer's power, making it her own and allowing for her to actually stand against it. No mortal was supposed to do such a thing; the Thunderer and All-Father themselves were barely capable of such feats!

"AAUGHHH!"

"Did I not make myself clear earlier?" Scarlet Witch snarled as she hit the Asgardian with a devastating hex blasts, sending her onto her knees in pain. "Do not turn your back on an opponent much stronger than you!"

The Hulk, meanwhile, had been barely holding his own against the combined might of the Executioner, the Wrecker, Piledriver, Bulldozer and Thunderball. The only thing keeping him going was his ever increasing strength as his anger increased as well. The fact that Wrecker was also half blind also helped out, too. The Hulk's hits grew more powerful with each passing moment; no matter how strong you are, though, one against five isn't the kind of odds to be favored in a fight. Luckily, Hulk wasn't alone.

"Need a hand, Jade Jaws!?" Hawkeye yelled as he and the others joined into the fray. He fired an explosive arrow right at Skurge's hand. The explosion shook the ax out of it, allowing Hulk to take advantage of the momentary surprise and punch the villain in the face, sending him crashing to the ground.

"Hulk, you handle the ax psycho!" Iron Man called out as he fired at Thunderball. "The rest of us will handle these four!"

"That makes things a lot easier," Hulk replied. "Now...HULK SMASH!" With that, and a roar of power, Hulk slammed his two fists into the back of the Executioner, forcing him onto the ground. The villain quickly retaliated with a sweep kick, quickly setting him and the Hulk into another all-out brawl.

Logan sunk his claws into the back of Piledriver, enticing an agonizing scream of pain from the villain. Before he could try to pull away the mutant, however, Spider Woman and Wasp unleashed a barrage of their energy attacks at the villain's face. His eyes stinging and tearing, Piledriver began throwing punches in an attempt to retaliate.

Thunderball, meanwhile, was slammed into the ground by Yellowjacket's enlarged fist. Mockingbird then struck in a blitz with her battle staves, thrusting the electrified tips into his ears. Enraged, Thunderball tried to swing his ball-&-chain at the smaller SHIELD agent, who barely dodged out of the way in time. He then threw his weapon at Pym, who caught it and slammed it back into his face.

Wrecker, still blind, was unable to fully fight as he couldn't see from his left side. Blindly swinging, he was easy picking for Iron Man's repulsors, Hawkeye's arrows and Quicksilver's punches.

Bulldozer's bruiser-like bulk was no match for the agility of Black Panther and Black Widow. Their physical prowess enhanced by the Heart Herb and Red Room Serum respectively, their agility and speed proved to be superior in this fight. They continuously attacked in rapid succession as the Wrecker grew more enraged, further making his attacks blind.

All the while, Hulk was decimating Executioner one haymaker at a time, slowly overpowering the Asgardian villain. Captain Marvel successfully held her own against the Destroyer, forcing on the defensive with each hit she landed. She punched the juggernaut into the skies, flying after it and throwing it several dozen blocks away, her energy blasts trailing after it. With the Destroyer finally out of the way, she quickly flew to Hulk's aid.

Amora the Enchantress saw all this, shock written across her face. Struggling to get up from Scarlet Witch's latest blast, she couldn't believe her eyes. These mortals were defeating them. If they fell, the Jotun would be next, and then their invasion would fail...she would fail. No, she had already failed. It was shameful to her, losing to such worms as these humans, but it was true. They had been bested by their inferiors.

"Forgive me, my Lord," Amora muttered, relaying these words to her master. "I have failed you…"

" _No Amora...you have not failed me. Your quest for this wench's power may blinded you, but you have proven yourself a most dedicated follower."_

"My Lord?"

" _Do not fret, my lovely Enchantress...I shall deal with these mortals, and obtain the witch's power for the both of us. Today, they shall know the true power of chaos and mischief."_

"Ready to surrender now, bitch?" the Scarlet Witch said, her hands glowing with hex energy and pointed at Amora. She was sure she had beaten the sorceress. So she was utterly shocked when Amora began laughing.

"On the contrary, mortal," Enchantress sneered as she slowly got up. "Your fates have just been sealed."

Wanda then heard rumblings from above her head. She looked up to see a number of dark clouds amassing in the skies, tinges of green dancing across them. "What have you done, Enchantress?" she asked the Asgardian with anger, aiming her glowing had at her.

"Oh, it's nothing to do with me now."

 **SCREAKABOOMM!**

Green lightning suddenly struck the ground, ripping the streets apart with its power. All fighting stopped as the heroes and villains turned to the new spectacle. Within the vibrant green light, where it met with the ground, a figure started to become visible. What unnerved the heroes, however, was the laughter echoing from it; it was a maniacal and sinister laughter. It echoed for blocks around, sending chills in the spines of the four human villains.

Suddenly, the lightning dispersed with a boom, leaving behind a green aura. The figure was now clearly visible, and now they could all see that the laugher was coming from the new arrival. It was a man...or something that at least had a man's appearance. He wore a golden helmet with curved horns, with long & shiny sleek black hair on his head. Adorning his body was a green and golden cross of armor, a cloak and a jacket, with golden gauntlets on his wrists. Underneath this outerwear was an all-black outfit: shirt, pants, and boots. From his back billowed a long, emerald green cape, and in one hand was a golden three-pronged scepter, with a glowing red jewel within its points.

What stuck out most, however, was the fact that he looked absolutely gorgeous. He was definitely a prime example of male physical beauty, which made the women present especially tense and wary. They knew it was villains that looked like this that were the most dangerous.

"Now, mortals!" the newly arrived being cackled. "You will face true power and chaos! You will now fall before the power of LOKI!"

* * *

 ***Chinatown, Manhattan, New York City***

 **1139 GMT/4:39 PM EST, 4 May 2012**

* * *

The sounds of military choppers roared overhead, a trio of Black Hawks heading towards the direction of Chelsea. Radio chatter said it was one of the more harder-hit areas. The choppers were just a bit of evidence that the city was finally fighting back hard; the National Guard had brought in .50 caliber jeeps and tanks, with the Air Force choppers flying overhead. Dispatch had confirmed that while all SHIELD Helicarriers wouldn't arrive for at least several hours, the planetary agency was sending backup, hopefully to soon arrive.

Carlie Cooper didn't give much of a damn what they had. She was just glad that heavy reinforcement had finally arrived.

"How many injured?" her superior officer asked as he came over.

"About seven," Carlie replied as she tightened her makeshift bandage over her arm gash. "Gomez and Jason are tending to them now. We lost Tyson and Javeric, though." She lowered her head at the mention of those names, names of fallen comrades and brethren on the force. "They were good cops, Sarge...they didn't deserve to die like that."

"I know, Cooper, but we can't dwell on that now," her sergeant replied, a pained expression forming on his face as he spoke. "I wish we could take a moment, but we're at war right now, something I'd never thought I'd be saying as a cop. We need to keep focus on what's happening now...and that means getting anyone we find to safety, doing our jobs and protecting the innocent." He then turned to see the unconscious and webbed up forms of the Frost Giants littering the streets. "Each of us in our own way, and the best we can."

Carlie followed the man's gaze, unable to help the soft smirk from grazing her lips. Peter definitely had done his part in going up against this invasion. Sure, he didn't have to stop when he had passed by earlier, when her units were being decimated by the Jotun. There were so many other people in the city that needed more help than them, who needed him more than they did. But he had helped them nonetheless, helping them fight against such, overwhelming odds.

The Air Force and Marines had finally arrived a little less than thirty minutes ago, reinforcing the combat and defense efforts of the NYPD and National Guard. Radio chatter had already alerted them that the local SHIELD forces, as well as deployed SWORD agents, reinforcing the defense efforts since the start of the invasion.

There was confirmation that the local vigilantes and superheroes had joined in the fight as well, bolstering their efforts. The defense of Hell's Kitchen was being bolstered by Daredevil and, according to Dispatch, a "superpowered woman in civilian attire." The Punisher was out there, too, from what she had heard; and Luke Cage, Iron Fist and the Heroes for Hire were helping defend Harlem. District X was supposedly the most violent and combat heavy area in Manhattan, with the invading hordes fighting a number of the local mutant population, led by the X-Factor team. Other vigilantes such as the Prowler, the Black Cat and even the Wraith had been sighted as well. Dispatch had also confirmed that a number of heroes had gathered in Times Square, fighting something else that had to do with the invasion.

It seemed the big shot names weren't anywhere nearby, however. The X-Men hadn't been seen, save for sightings of the Wolverine in the Lower East Side and Little Italy, and the Fantastic Four were apparently not even on Earth at the moment.

Despite this fact, Carlie felt that Manhattan still had a chance with the superheroes on their side. Peter, at least, definitely wasn't going to stand by and do nothing; it just wasn't like him to do that. She remembered how he had arrived; swinging through the city, helping anyone he could, fighting off the invading creatures. He fought with her and the other cops and soldiers on her unit against these things. He felt he had to protect these people...and he did, because it was what he both had to and needed to do. He had a responsibility to keep going, no matter the cost or price, and he was going to fulfill that responsibility.

She remembered their brief conversation before he had gone off on his way to help others...

" _How're your hands?"_

" _They're fine…ok fine, they still hurt...stop giving me the look."_

" _Then stop lying to me...that's why we broke up remember?"_

" _It's the end of the world and you're bringing up THAT again?" he smirked._

" _Ok, maybe not today," she replied with a small smirk. It was soon replaced by a frown. "You're still going back out there?"_

" _I have to...it's what I do. If not me, then who?"_

" _There are other heroes."_

" _Even they can't be everywhere at once."_

" _You know, sometimes, I wonder if things would be different if you stopped being Spider-Man."_

" _You know I won't stop. With great power must come great responsibility."_

She hated that he had lied to her in the "Spider Island" Incident, and she hated that he had deceived her about his life...but Carlie understood her ex for it. And it made being mad a bit harder to do.

"You're right, Sarge," she finally said, reloading her gun.

A green flash of lightning burst through the skies, descending onto Manhattan in the distance. Carlie knew Peter had been heading in that direction. He'd probably go right for it.

"We each got to do our part."

* * *

 ***Times Square, Manhattan, New York City***

 **1141 GMT/4:41 PM EST, 4 May 2012**

* * *

"Ok…" Hawkeye said as he aimed an arrow. "Who is THAT?!"

"Who cares?!" Hulk snarled. "Let's just smash him!"

"Hold on, Hulk," Black Panther cautioned. "We know nothing about this new arrival. An immediate attack would be an ill choice."

"Clown don' look like much to me," Logan huffed, his claws at the ready.

"Clown?" the man in emerald & gold armor said, feigning hurt. "You sting me with your words, mortal. A clown signifies a joker. I am not a joker, but a trickster. There is a well-defined difference. And as to your other question, archer...I am Loki, God of Mischief and the rightful heir to the throne of Asgard...and I am burdened with glorious purpose."

"Egoistic much?" Wasp muttered.

The united heroes were tensely awaiting something, for anything, to happen. The arrival of this new being, Loki as he called himself, seemed to be the one behind the entire invasion, exemplified by the authority and power he exuded. He stood lazily and yet passive-aggressively as the heroes slowly began to surround him, arrogance written on his face. All the while, the Enchantress, the Executioner and the four new villains were forgotten as they recovered from their battle.

"Why the hell are you here?" Iron Man demanded, his repulsors at the ready. JARVIS was currently trying to scan anything he could from this...Loki. "Why are you invading our world?"

"It is not an invasion, man of iron," Loki replied, "but simply me taking what is rightfully mine. I come with glad tidings, mortals, of a world made free."

"Free from what, exactly?" Quicksilver snapped.

"Life's greatest lie...freedom. It is a plague upon your world. Once you accept that, then in your heart, you will know peace. I have come to bring you that peace. I am your savior...your new lord and master."

"So to bring peace, you begin war?" Captain Marvel snarled. "And you expected us to just that lying down?"

"Oh no, of course not," Loki chuckled. "But I also knew that your attempts to resist would be futile. You are weak, pathetic creatures, unfit for anything. You are below the attention of all the other realms. You slaughter each other by the thousands, all in a mad bid for power. Is submission not your natural state? You worms were made to be ruled. In the end, when this is over, and I stand victorious over you...you shall kneel and know submission."

"Not as long as we're still alive, pal," Stark retorted.

"An obstacle easily remedied," Loki smirked. With a rapid flowing movement, he pointed his sceptre at the heroes. Instantly, a devastating wave blast of emerald energy shot out from it, and it was very powerful. The blast sent the heroes flying, and flying far.

"JARVIS, full power to repulsors!" Stark yelled out. He began firing a merciless barrage of repulsor blasts at Loki. To his shock, however, Loki simply disappeared, his attacks hitting nothing.

'WARNING, ATTACK COMING FROM THE REAR, SIR!' JARVIS said, but it was too late. Loki had reappeared floating behind Stark, slashing his armor with his sceptre. A powerful magic blast sent the armored hero crashing down to the ground.

An arrow suddenly flew at Loki, but the God of Mischief simply caught it inches from his face, without even looking, and threw it at a leaping Wolverine. It exploded upon impact, sending the mutant crashing down to the pavement. Bullets, stings and daggers bombarded the Trickster, but again, he disappeared, only to reappear by the attackers. He grabbed Natalia by the hair and threw her into Panther, sending them both flying into the nearby theater.

Spider Woman tried to land a punch, only for Loki to sidestep out of the way and have her crashing into a charging Hawkeye. To Wasp, the Trickster fired another arcane blast and sent her crashing into Logan, who had just gotten back up. Mockingbird tried to strike Loki with her staves, only for him to grab them both and slam the blonde into the ground.

"HAHAHAHA!" Loki cackled. "IS THAT REALLY THE BEST YOU CAN-?!" He was interrupted by a slash to the face, courtesy of Wolverine's claws.

"More where that came from, bub," the mutant snarled.

"You dare strike your master?!" Loki roared. With strength that it didn't appear he had, Loki backhanded Logan right into Stark, who had just gotten up. "You think you mortals can stand against me?! I am a god, you dull pathetic creatures! I will not be hassled by-!"

 **POW POW POW-POW POW!**

The ground shook as the Hulk surprised Loki, grabbing him and slamming him into the streets several times, face first.

"You talk too much," Hulk snarled, leaving Loki lying on the ground. The incredible titan was shocked, however, as the Trickster rose back to his feet, a smirk on his face.

"Oh on the contrary, you brutish monster, talking is an art to be mastered." In a blink of an eye, the one Loki became dozens more, illusions that took Hulk by utter surprise. "Now, can you even try to find the real Trickster, you brutish oaf?" Loki taunted, his voice echoing within the illusions.

Before any of the other heroes could rush to help their ally, the Hulk smashed his fists into the ground. The erupting surge of debris chunks destroyed all the illusions. It was all for naught, however, as the real Loki to appear from behind, blasting the Hulk with his sceptre.

As the Hulk staggered in pain, Yellowjacket landed a sucker punch on Loki in his small form. Growing to twenty feet, he then made to slam him down into the ground, but Loki quickly blasted the giant directly in the face with an arcane blast. As Pym came toppling down, Iron Man then tackled Loki, both crashing into the ground, with Stark flying off with uni-beam blasting the spot. Loki quickly set up magical shields, blocking Stark's attacks before he fired arcane blasts from both his sceptre and his hand, sending Stark flying into the Jumbotron remains.

Loki was then struck violently by Captain Marvel, still surging with energy from the Destroyer. The heroine began dealing a barrage of powerful punches, forcing Loki onto the defensive, much to his shock. He quickly teleported away, firing a magical blast at the heroine, who quickly dodged. Carol countered with a photon blast, striking Loki and making him yell out in pain. He again teleported, this time right next to her, backhanding her into an abandoned bus.

Black Panther then tried to jump onto the Trickster, but was grabbed mid-leap and thrown into a charging Wolverine. Bullets and arrows began hitting him again and in retaliation, Loki threw a volley of glistening daggers. Hawkeye managed to dodged them, but Widow was nicked in the shoulder by one of the daggers. Spider Woman then bum-rushed Loki, managing to catch him by surprise, an exploding surge of her venom blasts going off in his face. Angered, Loki grabbed her by the throat, throwing her into the large form of an advancing Wasp.

Captain Marvel successfully landed another axe kick, distracting Loki enough for Iron Man to blast him several times. Loki again sent the armored hero flying with a barrage of magical blasts. Carol quickly fired another energy blast at the God of Mischief, which he countered with an energy blasts. The two attacks imploded on each other, and Carol took advantage of it and with incredible speed, landed an axe kick on Loki. He quickly retaliated, punching the Captain into the skies.

With a roar, Hulk charged and made to ram a haymaker into Loki's face. To everyone's utter shock, however, the Trickster grabbed his fist mid-punch, causing a resonating boom to echo out.

"Stupid creature," Loki sneered. "You may be an incredibly strong monster, but do you honestly believe you can stand and fight with a god?!" Loki then hit the Hulk with his own fist, sending the titan staggering back...only for Hulk to backhand Loki into the skies, right into Captain Marvel's fist. Unfortunately, as he was falling, Loki again disappeared, only to reappear above Carol strike her with a powerful punch. Landing while the heroine crashed, Loki fired another barrage of magic blasts at the charging Wolverine and Warriors, sending them flying back.

Suddenly, Loki was repeatedly punched and hit with an incredibly fast combo of punches. A vortex then began forming around the Asgardian, but Loki simply smirked. He took out another of his daggers and thrust out into the vortex itself. A loud scream of pain rang out as Quicksilver crashed into the ground, heavy with momentum, his thigh bleeding profoundly. As Spider Woman rushed to his side, Loki prepared to shoot another blast from his sceptre, only to be struck by a painful blast of arcane hex energy. Loki crashed onto the ground, surprised to see his armor smoking, burn marks singing it. He then finally turned his attention to the Scarlet Witch.

"So...you are the witch whom the Enchantress saw unlimited power within," he mused. "I must agree, the magics within you...they are unlike anything I've ever seen or felt, and powerful indeed. A force of nature like I have never witnessed before, truly fit for the God of Mischief."

"You're insane if you think you can take my powers," Wanda huffed with a frown. Her fists began glowing with hex energy. "I just wiped the floor with your blonde whore. You'll be no problem."

"Indeed?" Loki smirked as he quickly fired a blast of magical energy at the mutant sorceress. Wanda quickly countered with her own blast, the two energies colliding in a statement. "My powers surpass that of Karnilla!" Loki laughed. "How can you hope to stand against me, mortal?!"

"With a couple of friends," Wanda smirked.

"HULK SMASH PUNY GOD!"

Loki barely had time to turn upwards as the Incredible Hulk crashed down upon Loki, his signature 'Hulk Smash' devastating the spot where he was standing. The streets tore apart, car-sized chunks of debris hurtling into the dust-filled air. As the Hulk jumped away, Captain Marvel rushed in and fired a steady photon blast at the same spot, not letting up for almost fifteen seconds. Once the smoke cleared, there was nothing except for a large crater created by the two most powerful members of the heroes' alliance.

"Did you get him?" Pietro asked, his wounds sealed thanks to Jess cauterizing it with her energy.

A taunting laugh answered their question as Loki reappeared before their eyes, this time near his lieutenants. The Enchantress, Executioner and the four new villains had by now recovered to full strength.

"I'm going to go out on a limb here," Hawkeye mused, "and say...nope."

"I must admit, I find myself surprised by the truth of your words, Amora," Loki remarked. "Their power, while much disorganized, does prove mighty. The half-breed and creature, especially, have proven to be quite powerful, their mettle rivaling even our own. Their cause is lost, of course, but it _is_ something to note. They could prove to be great warriors, if not for their inherent flaws as mortals."

"Warriors of the tales that Thor would boast of," Enchantress replied.

"Do not mention my oaf of a brother, Amora. We are in victory, so I would rather it not be spoiled."

"We need a new plan," Stark said to other heroes, his armor repairing itself. "This guy is really strong; as strong as Hulk and Captain Marvel. Hitting him a few at a time isn't helping us at all."

"A united assault could be an advantage," T'Challa offered. "However, I think perhaps a strike of the most powerful of us can overwhelm this Loki enough for the rest of us to strike when he is weakened.

"Panther's right," Carol added, her body still vibrantly aglow. "Hulk and I were the only ones who could do some damage to him. I say we give it a shot."

"Alright," Stark agreed. "So the Hulk, Logan and you."

"You're forgettin' Wanda," Logan added.

Wanda blinked in surprise. "...Me?"

"You were one of Magneto's strongest members back when you were Brotherhood."

"The lady and this guy Loki _are_ trying to take your powers," Stark agreed. "You have to be pretty powerful for the guys who are successfully invading our world to want your powers."

"...I guess so."

"Then consider yourself one of our biggest guns."

"Enough talking," Hulk snarled. "Let's go smash him."

"They gather again," Skurge stated as the heroes turned towards them again.

"Indeed," Loki mused. A musing look crossed his face for a moment before he spoke again. "Amora and Skurge, find Ymir. Tell him...we have prepared him a welcoming gift. Bring these new loyal servants of ours with you." He then turned to Wrecker, Piledriver, Thunderball and Bulldozer, and continued, "You four have proven your great loyalty, fighting for my cause. You have been promised reward, and as such…" Loki waved his hand and Wrecker's eye was enveloped in green energy, healed as soon as it dispersed. "Now go, and continue to earn your rightful place in this world."

"Oh, man, thanks, Loki, sir!" Wrecker exclaimed. "We won't fail you, we swear." And with a puff of green arcane smoke, Enchantress, Skurge and the four empowered villains vanished, leaving Loki alone against the assembled heroes.

"Now…" the Asgardian chuckled as he gave the heroes a once over. "Where were we, again?"

"Loki, you have one last chance," Stark called out, his repulsors fully charged. The other heroes readied themselves to engage. "Take your alien buddies off of our world, and leave."

At that, Loki found himself unable to not laugh. "You actually make threats against me? Do you really believe you can attempt to best me as second time? After I so easily humbled you the first time?"

"Hulk, take the head charge," Carol ordered. "Logan and I come from the sides. Wanda, get ready; on my mark, you give him hell." She paused for a second. "Logan, you deflect any blasts sent our way."

"Got it," Logan said.

"Ok," Wanda said.

"Time to smash," Hulk sneered.

"The rest of us, we get ready to jump in if things go south," Iron Man said. The other heroes got together to be ready.

"BOW BEFORE ME!" Loki yelled, firing his sceptre.

"NOW!" Captain Marvel yelled.

Without any hesitation, the Hulk charged forward, Wolverine alongside him. The mutant quickly used his claws to deflect Loki's blast with his claws. As he did, Hulk leapt up and landed a powerful smashing punch right onto Loki. The Asgardian tried to protect himself with magical shields, but the force of Hulk's blow was much too powerful, sending the deity crashing into the ground. Wolverine and Captain Marvel quickly raced forward, Carol flinging the mutant right at Loki. Logan began slashing away at the villain, making the villain yell out in rage, backhanding the X-Man aside. This only allowed Carol more room as her fist connected in an uppercut, followed by another barrage of punches on his torso. Loki quickly thrust his own punches, but Carol quickly got out of the way, her photon blasts slamming into the Asgardian as she flew away.

"WANDA, NOW!"

Loki quickly looked up in time to see the Scarlet Witch amassing a large surge of hex spheres around herself, her hands glowing vibrantly with arcane hex energy. Her eyes were glowing with pink energy, her hair flying, and she was chanting words in an unfamiliar language. She had been doing this all the while that Hulk, Wolverine and Captain Marvel had been attacking Loki. She suddenly snapped her head towards the Asgardian, a devious grin on her face.

"WELCOME TO EARTH, ASSHOLE!" Wanda yelled as she unleashed her hexes and arcane blasts, throwing them at the Trickster. Loki was seemingly about to get blasted to Kingdom Come, and appeared frozen in place-

Until he smirked.

Raising his scepter, Loki met the oncoming onslaught head on. His scepter's head began glowing a vibrant green, and as Wanda's attacks approached Loki, his hand glowed even brighter as the massive attack surged towards him. To everyone's utter shock, however, Loki wasn't hurt by Wanda's attack. Instead, the scepter seemed to absorb the entire brunt of Wanda's attack. The surge of hexes and arcane blasts began shrinking as Loki's scepter absorbed the power, eventually disappearing into its pronged-tipped head.

The heroes stood flabbergasted, Wanda most of all. "No…" she murmured, shocked to her core. "That's not possible…no one has ever done that…"

"Ahhhh, yes!" Loki laughed, his scepter now glowing vibrantly. "Amora was right; that is very potent magic, indeed! With that power, I can truly and easily conquer the entirety of the Nine Realms! Not even Odin will be able to stand against me! Now...let us see how powerful this magic is….when under the command of the God of Mischief!"

Loki then fired a merciless barrage of magical blasts from his scepter, the attacks momentarily enhanced greatly by the power Loki absorbed through Wanda's power. The blasts sent all the heroes flying back. Hulk and Wolverine quickly recovered and charged towards the Asgardian, only for him to blast Logan aside and send Hulk staggering back with a punch.

"YOUR POWER BELONGS TO ME, WITCH!" Loki screamed in sinister glee, teleporting himself right next to Wanda. Before she could react, the Asgardian grabbed her by the throat. His hand began to glow again. "AND YOU SHALL DELIVER IT UNTO ME!"

"Wanda!" Quicksilver yelled. Instinct drilled in for almost 20 years kicked in as he sped right into Loki in a slamming tackle. Forcing the Trickster away from his sister, Pietro struck at Loki with a vicious barrage of rapid blows. Loki, however, simply unleashed another barrage of magical blasts, sending the speedster flying.

"Everyone, PROTECT SCARLET WITCH!" Iron Man yelled out. At once, all the other heroes attacked as one, unrelenting and unfaltering. Each of them was the best at what they were skilled in. Each was a powerful hero in their own right. They had rightfully earned the titles of heroes.

But even heroes fall.

They were merely humans; genius humans, mutant humans, half-alien humans, near all-powerful humans...but they were still human.

Loki...was a god.

 **SCREWAAAAAAAOOOOMMMM!**

With a devastating pair of magical blasts, Loki sent the heroes flying back. "Why do you persist?!" he laughed. "I HAVE BESTED YOU, AND I WILL TAKE THIS WORLD AND THEN ALL THE NINE REALMS! I AM YOUR GOD AND RULER! KNEEL BEFORE ME!"

"NEVER!" Wanda yelled as she again fired a hex blast, only to miss as Loki teleported himself right next to her, again grabbing her by the throat.

"You fought well for a mortal, wench, but this was always the outcome! Now, deliver your power unto me!" Loki's hands began glowing, and Wanda immediately felt something violating her very inner being, extremely vicious pain burning inside her. It felt like something was moving in there that shouldn't even be there. It was as if something was ripping out her very essence. It was too painful to bear, and Wanda soon began screaming and squirming in pain.

"Yes…YES!" Loki laughed. "The power...It is mine-!"

"LET GO OF HER!" Carol yelled as she delivered a vicious uppercut on Loki, sending him crashing and flying back. Wanda collapsed onto the ground, with Panther and Logan rushed to her side.

"Wanda, are you ok?" the Wakandan monarch asked.

"I'm...fine...just need to…" the mutant gasped hoarsely, her eyes blurry with tears. The sensations were still rattling her. Trying to clear her eyes, she then called out, "Captain Marvel, look out!"

Carol turned and barely managed to dodge Loki's arcane blasts. Unfortunately, the blast managed to hit an unprepared Iron Man.

"AAAAAUUUGHHH!"

'Warning, armor power source rapidly decreasing. All weapons are offline. Power source temporarily compromised. Flight capabilities compromised.'

"Stark!" Pym yelled as he, Hawkeye and Mockingbird dashed for him.

"Accept the truth, mortals!" Loki sneered. "You cannot hope to stop me!" He quickly fired another magic blast at a jumping Hulk, sending him flying into the 42nd Street subway station.

"Captain Marvel!" Natalia yelled. "Keep him away from Wanda!"

Her body still surging with the energy of the Destroyer ("This sure doesn't wear off!"), Carol didn't reply, choosing to simply bum-rush Loki with incredible speeds, slamming him into the streets, a massive crater. The Captain then blasted the Asgardian with a vicious photon blast. Loki countered with a blast from his sceptre, hitting Carol dead-on, and then blasting her again with another hex-empowered magic blast. Carol refused to fall, however, and fired another barrage of photon blasts.

A vicious roar signaled the return of the Hulk as he again smashed Loki into the ground. He began a vicious punching assault on the Trickster, only for Loki to thrust his scepter' tips into the titan's chest. The Hulk reared back in pain, allowing Loki to rip his weapon back out and deliver a punch into Hulk's stomach. Carol then struck again with an axe kick, stunning Loki enough for the Hulk to grab him and punch him into the skies. The Captain raced after the Trickster, all her hand-to-hand training from her days as CIA, USAF and SHIELD on full display. Higher and higher she hit Loki, both now high above the New York skyline.

"FACE IT, LOKI! YOU CAN'T BEAT US! NO MATTER WHAT, WE'LL STOP YOU! AND WITH THE POWER OF THE DESTROYER IN ME, I CAN TAKE YOU JUST AS-!"

She was interrupted with a vicious hit with the scepter's head and then blasted with an arcane blast. Surprised and rattled, she was easy picking as Loki struck her with a trio of punches before grabbed her by the throat, squeezing tightly. Carol tried to rip his grip off her, but to no avail.

"You pathetic feeble minded fool!" Loki snarled. "You truly believe you had the better of me just now?! You are a very formidable opponent, powerful as I never imagined, but you are _nothing_ compared to my power. You may have the power of the Destroyer flowing within you…"

Loki then smirked suddenly, a look that actually sent a chill down Carol's spine.

"...but what use is it to you...how formidable does it make you, if you cannot even use it?"

With that, Loki unleashed a devastating blast of arcane magic, chanting in a language unknown to Carol. It wouldn't have mattered, however, as she was too busy screaming in pain to notice. A small part of her wondered if this was the same pain Wanda had felt moments ago. It was as if something was being ripped away from inside of her, as if her very essence was being torn apart. The pain was too much for her, her body feeling as if it would tear itself apart.

Then, the pain suddenly subsided, disappearing from her. Carol found herself gasping for air, tears flowing from her eyes, her voice hoarse from her screams. It was a moment, however, before she suddenly realized several things. She could the extreme cold of high altitudes. She could the extremely tight grip Loki had on her throat. She couldn't feel, however, the energy flowing in her body. She couldn't feel her flight. And she found herself with a shortness of breath.

Carol Danvers, Captain Marvel, suddenly felt fear, and for good reason.

Loki had neutralized her powers.

"Now, this is where I say goodbye," the Trickster sneered. "I have grand and glorious victories to win in this realm. You powers will return, do not fret...but you won't live long enough for them to." And with that, he teleported away, his laughter echoing in the air where he had just been.

Leaving Captain Marvel to plummet to her demise.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

"OH MY GOD!" Wasp yelled in horror down on the streets of Times Square. The heroes had been watching from below the battle between Carol and Loki. She and the others were shocked at the sight of Captain Marvel falling to her death.

"CAROL!" Jessica yelled out, fear taking over.

"STARK, FLY UP THERE!" Natalia quickly ordered.

"I can't! My armor's flight capacity is messed up!"

"I can try to-!" Wanda began.

"No," Loki sneered as he reappeared beside her, grabbing her wrist. "You, wench, are coming with me." And with that, before anyone else could react, they both vanished in a puff of green smoke.

"WANDA!" Pietro screamed in horror.

"This is not good…" Hawkeye said.

"YA THINK?!" Logan replied.

"Oh my god...CAROL!" Jessica yelled, starting to fly up before Natalia and Bobbi stopped her.

"Drew, you can't! You won't-!"

"I CAN'T JUST LET HER DIE!"

"Hulk can try to-!"

"Wait, what is that?!" Pym yelled, pointing up. They all looked up to where the hero was pointing. They could see a figure in the distance near the top of one of the buildings, crawling up at a remarkable speed. They could just make out the red and blue of his body.

"Wait, is that…?" Mockingbird began.

"It is," Wolverine replied with a small nod, instantly recognizing the colors.

The figure reached the top of the tower he was scaling and looked up at the rapidly falling form of Captain Marvel. He then jumped back off the tower, but not before firing two web lines at said tower and the one across from it. Down he plummeted, the webs stretching as he did.

"Is he-?!" Stark said.

The figure then catapulted right into the skies, heading straight for the heroine plummeting to her doom.

"Yep, he is," Logan smirked.

Meanwhile, Carol was still screaming as she fell faster and faster. This couldn't be the end, she desperately thought. It just couldn't be! There was still so much she had wanted to do with her life, so much she had yet to accomplish! She couldn't go out like this, not like this! There was still so much she left undone, so much she left unsaid, so much left that she had to do. So caught up in the fact that she was apparently about to die, Carol only barely registered a red and blue clad figure flying right towards her from the ground.

The heroes below were in awe as the figure caught Captain Marvel. Now both were plummeting down towards Earth. But once they were close enough to the tower skylines, the figure shot another line of webbing at one of the surrounding towers. He got himself and Carol into a rapid swing, both now heading for the other assembled heroes. Once they were close enough, they could all see clearly who had saved their ally. He wore red & blue spandex, ripped and tattered in various places, and he wore a full face mask with large white eye lenses. On his chest was a black spider insignia.

Wolverine knew him as Peter Parker.

The other heroes, and most of the rest of the world, knew him only as the Amazing Spider-Man. The modern world's first true superhero.

* * *

 _ **XXXXX**_

 _ **TO BE CONTINUED...**_

* * *

 _ **Notes:**_

 _ **Loki's sceptre. It is based off of the sceptre used by his Avengers: EMH counterpart. It is NOT the sceptre used by the MCU Loki.**_


	5. Assemble! Part 5

_***Insert Disclaimer Here***_

* * *

Chapter 5: Assemble! Part 5

* * *

 ***Lexington Avenue & 53rd Street, Manhattan. Earlier…***

 **1139 GMT/4:39 PM EST, 4 May 2012**

* * *

"Frosty the Snowman-!"

 **POW!**

 **BOOMM!**

"…REALLY isn't such a jolly and happy soul, after all," Spider-Man quipped as he landed on the Jotun he had just knocked onto the ground.

The Webhead was overwhelmed with shock and confusion. What had started out as a typical afternoon, with him out shooting a few pictures for Jameson, had somehow turned into an alien invasion slugfest across Manhattan. His Spider Sense had been on overdrive since the green energy blasts started hitting the island. He had no idea what was going on, only that it seemed the world was being invaded by aliens and that Manhattan was losing a war.

Peter heard another series of roars from behind him, and turned to see a bunch more of the blue snow giants lumbering towards him, weapons in hand. As he again engaged the invading creatures, the civilians, police and soldiers that he had come to help quickly began retreating and backing away, the soldiers and police directing the civilians towards the nearby subways.

"Look, guys, in case you haven't noticed, it isn't Christmas yet, and I'm pretty sure ol' Saint Nick would very much disapprove of your behavior right now!" the Webhead quipped.

"Why does this human not be silent!?" one of the Frost Giants yelled in anger as he swung at Peter, only to miss. "All the other humans on Midgard flee before us!"

"Holy crap, you guys DO talk!" Peter yelled as he webbed the weapons out of their hands with many shots of his webs. He threw them to the ground a good number of yards away, no longer able to be used. "In that case, I got to ask…" And at that, the arachnid jumped at the creature and began to deal out punches and kicks. "What's the jolly man himself like? You guys still upset about the 'No More Snow' thing from the cartoons? What's up with the blue? I thought you guys were supposed to be white. Where's the magic hat that make you guys come to life?"

Peter continued to spit out random questions and Frosty references until this particular group of Jotun was all knocked unconscious. Leaping onto the body of one and webbing them all to the street, he yelled out, "And that ends out Radio City Frosty Special Edition Christmas Spectacular!" He then winced slightly, shaking his hands; sure, he was durable, but putting out that level of strength when he was so used to restraining himself…. "Ow…Carlie was right."

Suddenly, he saw a massive green lightning bolt descend from the heavens to another part of the city. Being the science geek he was, he knew that it wasn't natural lightning…meaning this may have had to do with whatever was going on.

"...May have to check it out, Parker," Peter mused to himself.

He was currently within the Lower East Side, and the lightning, now gone, appeared to have descended at least within the area of central Manhattan. Checking that his web shooters were still full and that he had a few spare cartridges on him, he quickly scaled the tallest building he could find in the immediate area. Upon reaching the top, he stretched his hands out and shot two web lines at the two nearby building antennae. Backing up sufficiently, the lines snagged and Peter was soon catapulted into the air, sent soaring towards central Manhattan.

As he swung along, he couldn't take his eyes away from the chaos below him. Everywhere, these giant blue creatures were causing destruction, with people screaming and running in chaos and panic left and right. The military and police were fighting back as best as they could, and it seemed that the local SHIELD people were also in the fight. Being the ever responsible hero, he'd jump down and land a punch or a kick or a web shot to help them out and bring a Frosty wannabe down, protect anyone he could. He knew he couldn't stand against them all, especially since it seemed the numbers against them were limitless. Peter even tried to web some portals shut, but it was only a temporary measure. It was absolute chaos around here.

"Seriously, where the heck are Nick Fury and those Helicarriers of his when you need them?!"

As he got closer to his destination, he could hear the massive echoes of impacts and explosions. The massive pillars of smoke and signs of destruction told him it was coming from the Times Square area. As Peter got closer, several more thunderous booms rang out, and he could see a tower top exploding, along with a few flashes of light, presumably energy blasts. Landing on the top of another Times Square building, he was surprised as a sudden burst of light shot into the skies.

Captain Marvel was mercilessly pulverizing some guy in green and gold armor, both ascending higher into the air. She was glowing brightly and yelling furiously. Peter was momentarily taken aback by the sight. Peter had always had a fan boy crush on the heroine (what straight male wouldn't?) and had seen her around the city on his patrols since she came onto the scene as Ms. Marvel a few years back. He had always wondered what had happened in those two years she had disappeared before reemerging as Ms. Marvel again…only to changer her moniker a few months later to Captain Marvel. He never actually met the woman or spoke to her, but knew she was one of the most powerful superhumans on the planet. To see her fighting this guy while Manhattan was literally burning and being destroyed around her, it made Peter wonder if this guy she was fighting was somehow tied to what was going-

Captain Marvel was suddenly falling thousands of feet, her opponent having disappeared.

"Aw, applesauce," Peter muttered.

He didn't even hesitate. He jumped to the taller building next to the one he was currently on, quickly scaling the walls to the top. Reaching it, he snagged two web lines to the rooftop antenna and again took a quick look at the plummeting heroine, calculating how to do this.

"Only one shot, Parker," he muttered to himself. A split second later, he jumped off the tower, letting the web line get longer and longer in length as he fell down more and more. After a little more than a thousand feet, the lines snagged again, and Peter was instantly catapulted into the heavens, heading straight for a Captain Marvel plummeting to her death. Faster and faster she fell, while faster and faster he raced for her. Once within range, he stretched out his arms...

And Carol suddenly found herself held by two strong arms in skin-tight spandex while Peter's arms were suddenly filled with beautiful superheroine.

It took Carol a couple of seconds to stop screaming and another couple to realize who her savior was. "Spider-Man?!" she exclaimed in shock. She had heard many stories about him, growing up in Boston, but despite all the years she'd lived in New York she had never personally seen or met him. He had apparently been around for at least 10 years, since she was around 17 or 18. He was supposed to be the modern world's first true superhero, even though the Fantastic Four came onto the 'modern hero' scene first, in the early 2000's. He was a street level hero, had a rogues gallery that arguably filled up half of the Raft…and was notorious for never shutting up.

"Hi!" Spider-Man replied with a hidden grin and a voice that sounded surprisingly young; Carol imagined he'd be older. "Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, at your service! All you alright?"

"Uh...yeah, I guess-!"

"Alright, as long as that's out of the way! Don't worry, I've got you!"

"But…you can't fly!"

It was too easy.

"Wait-I can't?!" Peter replied in mock surprise as he looked down. "Holy crap, you're right, I can't! Someone should've told me before I did this! And I made a huge effort coming here to save you too!"

Carol was shocked. "Are…are you joking?! We're falling to our deaths, and you're JOKING?!"

Peter stared at her from behind his mask. "You haven't been here that long enough, have you?"

"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!" she screamed in reply, anger now coursing in her veins.

"Yep, definitely a New York Newbie," Peter quipped. They continued to plummet to the ground, until Peter realized something. "Y'know, not that I don't enjoy holding a beautiful blonde bombshell in my arms and all, but…can't you FLY?!"

"And now you're HITTING on me?!" Carol fumed.

"It was just a compliment! But seriously, why aren't you flying?!"

"That guy I was fighting, Loki, somehow neutralized my powers!"

"Well…that sucks!"

"REALLY?!"

"What do you want me to say?!"

"How about what your plan is to getting us out of this situation?! In case you forgot, WE'RE FALLING TO OUR DEATHS!"

Peter knew when to joke and when to be serious. He knew where to draw the line. But for some reason, he just couldn't help himself from joking with Captain Marvel and pushing her buttons. He had no idea what; it was just something about her.

"Um…actually, I never usually get this far with this move!"

"SO YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT TO DO?!"

Peter grinned behind his mask. "Nope, not at all!"

"WHAT THE F-?!"

"Now, now, a lady shouldn't be using such language, Captain Marvel."

"I'm going to die in the arms of a maniac!"

By this time, Peter saw that he was in range of a skyscraper. 'Oh well, fun's over.'

"Oh, Captain, my Captain, ye of little faith!" he yelled as he fired a web line at the topmost ledge of the tower, which it perfectly snagged. With a yell of joy, he maneuvered them both into a swing towards the streets below. "HANG ON!" She gave him a look of incredulity. "YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN!"

As he swung on, he unconsciously grabbed tighter onto the heroine, and she unconsciously held onto him tightly, both fearing that she'd slip and fall to her death since she was temporarily depowered. Suddenly, Peter saw a group of people…and a large green monster on the ruined site of Times Square. People of whom many were quite familiar to him, at least by sight.

"Let me guess," he said, "that way?"

"Yes, that way!" Carol yelled back.

Within a few more seconds, the Webhead and his ride tag along were close enough for Peter to let go of the web line and jump down towards the group, and he could see just who they were. Iron Man, the Hulk, Hawkeye, Mockingbird, Black Widow, Yellowjacket, Wasp, Quicksilver, Spider Woman, Black Panther…and his old buddy, Wolverine. He landed in front of the assemblage of heroes, Captain Marvel in his arm.

"TA-DA!" he exclaimed. "One stick in the mud personality heroine, saved by your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man!"

"What?!" Carol yelled as Peter let her go, Spider Woman biting back a laugh.

"Well, I just met you like five minutes ago, and you already seem like the 'doesn't know how to have fun' type of girl," the arachnid quipped.

Carol got directly into his face. "SHUT. UP." Her teeth bore as she snarled the words. "OR I WILL HURT YOU."

"Well, he does have a point, Carol," Jessica laughed, much to Carol's shock.

"Spider Woman," Peter said as he walked over. "I've always wanted to meet my number one crazy obsessed fan!"

"What?!" Jessica gasped in surprise. "Crazy obsessed-?! I'm sorry, but you're the copycat, Spider-Man, not me!"

"Actually, I've been Spider-Man for 11 years. You've only been around for about eight, if I recall correctly."

"Don' argue with him, Jess," Logan smirked as he came forward. "You'll be fightin' a losin' war. Trust me, I know."

"Logan, buddy!" Peter exclaimed. "What's it been, years?"

"Good to see ya, Webs…and don' call me buddy."

"Is there anyone you don't know here?" Hawkeye said in exasperation.

"Fought the Hulk once, worked with your Warriors, Binary, Brotherhood battle in Wakanda, Stark came to Japan that one time, that other time with Kitty that ended after a few years…I don' know them two," Logan shrugged as he pointed at Hank and Jan.

"I was being sarcastic…" Clint muttered.

"Um, question?" Spider-Man asked. "What was that green lightning bolt I saw earlier? I thought it might've had something to do with all the blue Frosty the Snowmen running around."

"It did, Spider-Man," Iron Man said. "He's the one behind this whole invasion, calls himself Loki. Seems like a generic would-be world conqueror. He's anything but, though. He managed to throw us around pretty easily-"

"Even the Hulk?" Peter said in shock, pointing to the incredible titan.

"Even the Hulk."

"He was just lucky…" Hulk muttered.

"Anyways," Stark continued, "He's also not alone; he's also got help. A woman who calls herself Enchantress, highly skilled in magic, and a man with an ax called the Executioner. Not only that, he managed to transform four street criminals into fellows with strength on par with Captain Marvel. And to make matters worse, they kidnapped the Scarlet Witch-"

"And we should be trying to find her now!" Pietro interrupted. Despite his clear efforts to hide his worry, he was very concerned about his sister right now. "Who knows what that mad psychopath is doing to Wanda right now?!"

"We'll find her, Quicksilver," T'Challa assumed the mutant speedster.

"We could use your help, Spider-Man," Iron Man told the Webhead. "We'll need all the power we could use to fight this guy."

"W-wait…my help? MY help?!" Peter replied in surprise.

"That's what he said, Webs," Logan answered.

Peter was out of his mind. Tony Stark, the INVINCIBLE Iron Man, was asking for his help. He was being asked to work with some of the greatest heroes of the world, some of the best secret agents, some of the most powerful mutants in the world, and a king of a foreign country…he, HIM-Spider-Man!

"Uh…yeah, yeah!" he replied. "I'll help anyway I can. You can count on me." He could barely believe this. Then, he got a crazy idea, and gestured over to Captain Marvel. "And my sidekick, too."

Carol stared at him for a good two seconds before making for the Webhead, with Jessica just able to restrain her. "Lemme at him, dammit!"

"Ok, that aside," Stark mused, "now we just got to-"

They were interrupted by a vicious and bone-chilling roar. All 13 heroes turned to see a massive horde of the blue skinned Jotun lumbering towards them from three different directions, all with their weapons in hand and with murder in their eyes. What grabbed their attention, however, was the one Frost Giant that was leading them all. He a bit taller than the rest of them, and his skin was just slightly bluer than that of the others. His weapons were two sinister looking ice scythes.

"Crap," Carol muttered. "That's…

"Amora the Enchantress promised my people that there was a glorious battle here awaiting us," Ymir of the Frost Giants of Jotunheim sneered. "A group of pitiful mortal humans who think themselves gods, trying to defeat us; allow us, mortals, to show you the error of your ways." And with another vicious roar, Ymir led his armies against the heroes.

"Aw, applesauce…"

* * *

 ***Gramercy, Manhattan, New York City***

 **1159 GMT/ 4:59 PM EST, 4 May 2012**

* * *

Jane stumbled out of the car, looking around hectically and frantically for any more Jotun. "Ok, the coast is clear, for now at least," she said. At that, Thor got out of the car.

The Jotun REALLY hated Thor.

"What the HELL did you do to them?!" the astrophysicist said in exasperation.

"Well, I've continuously beaten the Hel out of them for the past few…" Thor counted off three or four of his fingers. "…Millennia, I believe."

"Of course," Jane muttered. "You have a serious issue with violence and fighting, Thor. You might want to ease up on beating them up in the future, if stuff like this is going to end up happening."

"Now where would the fun in an immortal life be without smashing and laying waste to a number of Frost Giants every so often?" the fallen god smirked. Jane sighed as she ran her hand through her hair. She should have figured that there would never be any way to convince her boyfriend out of a fight. Hell, he literally knocked out the entire population of one of Atlantic City's bars one time when a biker was making the moves on her. Now, don't get her wrong, she loved it when Thor protected her, but his response that time had been uncalled for. It had only been the one biker after all.

Why had Thor fought the entire bar? "Because why not?"

She was starting to wonder if all…Asgardians were like this.

Looking around, Jane saw that they were in Gramercy, and it had definitely seen better days. Cars were burning, with bodies littering the floor, both human and Jotun. Above their heads, several military and SHIELD choppers flew in various different directions, and all streets were filled with police, military and SHIELD agents fighting off the Frost Giants. Many people were still flooding the streets in panic, with petty criminals and looters taking advantage of the chaos. Manhattan was in flames.

"He caused this."

Jane turned to Thor. "What?"

"Loki." Jane recognized the name, Thor having told her stories on his half-brother. "I saw that bolt of lightning. I may not have seen him for three years, Jane, but I recognize the work of my brother. Long has he always sought to conquer Asgard and claim Odin's throne as his own. He has always sought to humiliate me, destroy me and break me. Loki knows he will never be equal to me in our father's eyes. Everything I have earned, he believes it is rightfully his. And…I believe that as I have grown so attached to this world, he now seeks to take it from me."

Jane stared at him with her mouth open. She knew from what Thor had told her that Loki Laufeyson was a madman, a psychopath, an evil god bent of ruling over Asgard, and in essence the entirety of the "Nine Asgardian Realms." But it never sunk into her mind that it would include Earth…not until now.

"There are heroes across the planet that would stand against him, and stop him," Jane said. "SHIELD and SWORD, the Fantastic Four, the X-Men…"

"They are formidable indeed, Jane," Thor said as he walked on.

Jane took this to realize that they weren't going to be driving anymore…pffht, yeah right. She turned to get their stolen squad car, but not before she heard her boyfriend say one more thing.

"But even with their power, they are merely mortal humans. How can they hope to stand against a god?"

* * *

 ***Central Park, Manhattan, New York City***

 **1206 GMT/5:06 PM EST, 4 May 2012**

* * *

"Hrrmmph!"

Wanda found herself unceremoniously thrown into the ground, which resulted in dirt getting in her mouth. Spitting it out, she turned and tried to get up, but she only got as far as her knees and one hand on the ground before her face was met with a glowing scepter

"Please don't," Loki stated with simplicity. "I still need you."

Wanda stared defiantly at the God of Mischief. She would be damned if she would cower and beg for her life like a dog. She was nothing like that; Magneto had instilled defiance of power into her mind, and she utilized it right now as she refused to let the Trickster see any weakness in her. "You will pay for this, Loki," she said quietly, ice in her voice. "This whole invasion of yours…it will blow up in your face, and you will be beaten and my allies will make you pay…unless my brother finds you first."

"The speedster?" Loki laughed. "He could never pose a threat to me. Nor the man in metal, the monster, or the half breed. You all are pathetic mortals, scavenging what little you can claim for yourselves. You pretend to be gods with your skills and powers, thinking you can change your world for the better, that you can quell chaos. You feeble minded fools…nothing can quell chaos. It is the natural order."

At that moment, Enchantress appeared with a teleportation spell, along with Executioner, Wrecker, Piledriver, Thunderball and Bulldozer.

"Ymir has gone off to deal with the mortal heroes," Amora stated. "And the Destroyer is heading back to their location now. And…you have captured the witch." Amora stared at Wanda sinisterly, the mutant matching her glare.

"Yes, indeed, Amora," Loki smirked. "She is truly quite powerful, as you say. The arcane abilities in her…it is unlike anything I've ever seen. Such potency…it can easily stand against the powers of the All-Father. At last, I can truly claim and conquer what is rightfully mine. In conquering this pathetic cesspool of a realm that my oaf of a brother was banished in, I've found a weapon that will win us the Nine Realms."

"So you plan to turn me into a weapon," Wanda chuckled. "It didn't work when Sinister tried it, it didn't work when the Hellfire Club tried it, and you won't have any better luck."

"You?" Loki laughed. "Now what makes you think I need _you_ at all?"

Wanda's eyes widened as she suddenly understood what he was implying. When Loki decided to claim her power, she merely thought she was going to be forced to fight for him…but all he wanted was her powers. Wanda herself was of no use to him at all. Before she could even move or react, however, Loki suddenly waved his hand and she was lifted off the ground. Green spheres of magical energy ensnared her hands as they were forced up in a horizontal stretch formation. Her legs and feet were also ensnared together by the same green energy. She was now suspended in the air unable to move or fire any hexes or arcane blasts.

"All I need is the power inside you," Loki sneered, and Wanda found herself slowly starting to know fear. "After I take it from you, I could care less what becomes of you, wench."

"Then pass her on to us," Wrecker said suddenly, a sneer on his face. "After everything we're doing for ya, I think me and the boys could use a nice reward."

"And she's as nice as they get," Thunderball added, eyeing the mutant with predatory eyes.

Wanda unconsciously gulped in horror.

"Very well, my minions," Loki chuckled. "You may do as you wish to her…after I gain her powers."

At that, Wanda felt the pain again…and then the screams began escaping her lips.

* * *

 ***Times Square, Manhattan, New York***

 **1212 GMT/ 5:12 PM EST, 4 May 2012**

* * *

"WHY DON' THESE THINGS GIVE UP, DAMMIT!?" Wolverine roared as he slashed at another Jotun's throat. Thick blue blood drenched him the Jotun's neck and the street below as the creature collapsed, choking to death. "THEY JUST KEEP COMIN'!"

"Then keep gutting them, you big baby!" Barton yelled as he fired a volley of explosive arrows at three Frost Giants. He was back to back with Widow as she fired rapid rounds of machine gun fire.

The heroes were getting their asses kicked. The Jotun were swarming them like crazy, and their numbers didn't seem to be ending any time soon. Loki clearly was making to ensure that they were all too occupied to come after him. The battle rang out for blocks around as the assembled heroes fought back viciously against the oncoming hordes of Frost Giants. They were outnumbered and outclassed…but they weren't out powered.

Except for Captain Marvel; her powers still neutralized, Carol was unable to put up the fight she yearned to give right now and dish out the damage she really wanted to. But even depowered, she wasn't one to run from a fight. She was a former soldier, and a former SHIELD agent, dammit. Given a gun or two and some ammo, and she fought just as fierce. And at the moment, that was exactly what she was doing, firing two guns she had grabbed off a nearby SWAT officer's body, a combat belt with a bunch of ammo cartridges in the pouches.

Hulk had instantly made to smash Ymir and since then he had been engaged in a vicious brawl with him. Ymir was unlike any of the other Jotun; he was stronger, more resistant, and certainly more ruthless. He wielded two ice scythes, and he knew how to use them well. He was certainly powerful. Not on the level of the Hulk, however, but where he failed in strength, he made up in skill. This made it a vicious battle for the both of the titans. Their fight had traveled all over Times Square and had caused even more damage than their fight with the Destroyer.

"Just hold the damn line!" Stark yelled out, his armor once again fully functioning as he grabbed a Jotun by the head and threw it into the ground, firing his uni-beam at another. "We can't let these things keep us here! We break them down and go find Loki!" Quickly flying up, he activated the laser weaponry in his gauntlets and struck at the Jotun with it, slicing limbs and bodies apart.

"FORE!" Spider-Man called out as he blinded a Frost Giant with his webbing. With a somersault, he rammed his feet into its face, slamming it into the ground. His Spider Sense buzzing more violently, Peter barely avoided being struck by an ice club.

"Stay focused, counterpart!" Jessica chuckled as she landed next to him in a crouch, firing her venom blasts. "We can't have you bloody killed while you're sightseeing, now can we?!"

"Hey, I've lasted this long!" Peter quipped as they got back to back, firing webs and venom blasts. "So, I've been meaning to ask something in these long minutes we've known each other."

"Really?" Jessica replied. "A bit random at a time like this, isn't it?"

"Maybe. So, you shoot webs or anything?"

"Uh...no, I don't think so!"

"So why are you called SPIDER Woman?! You don't seem to have any spider powers!"

"I can cling to walls like you, if that helps! And I have spider DNA in my blood!"

"Hey, me too!"

"You're pretty random, aren't you?!"

"It's more fun than it looks!"

"Annoying to most!"

"You seem to be fine with it! Most women can't stand me for five minutes!" Spider-Man yelled as he shot a web line above Jessica's head, blinding the Jotun charging her. In a flash, she rammed her fist into its eye and fired venom blasts at its mouth.

Spider Woman actually laughed at that. "That should tell you something, shouldn't it?"

"Eh, I think it should," Peter shrugged as he fired more webbing. "Not sure what, though."

"I must admit, you certainly live up to your reputation," Jess replied as she fired her venom blasts at a Jotun making to slam Peter to the ground. "You're nothing like what I'd thought you to be!"

"Is that a good thing?"

"I would say so. You certainly made me laugh for the first time this whole day."

"Huh…I think that's the first time I've heard that in years!"

"Well, you left quite the impression on Captain Marvel."

"I think she wants to kill me."

"Oh, she's just joking!"

"NO I WASN'T!" Captain Marvel yelled as she fired at a Jotun, distracting it enough for Hulk to smash it with Ymir's face.

"Ignore her; she's just embarrassed she had to be saved. She's not used to being the damsel in distress."

"I could tell. Real stick in the mud."

"That's what I _always_ say!"

"REALLY, JESS?!" Carol yelled out.

"Oh you know I kid!"

"Me too!" Spidey quipped.

"NO ONE ASKED YOUR OPINION!"

"Hey, now be nice to my counterpart!"

"Y'know, Spider Woman," Spider-Man said with a smile as he kicked a Jotun in the crotch, making it howl in pain. "I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship!"

"You know what, Spider-Man," Spider Woman yelled back with her own smile as she blasted the same Jotun in the face. "I believe so!"

"Cheer up, Danvers," Logan said as he ran past the captain. "He stops gettin' annoyin' after a while."

"How long?!"

"I'll letchu know when he does!"

"Yes, find a new friend in this chaos," Pietro yelled as he rapidly unleashed volleys after volleys of momentum enhanced punches on the Jotun. "Meanwhile, Wanda is God knows where with that mad man!"

"WE'LL FIND HER, DAMMIT!" Natalia yelled. "FOCUS ON THE CURRENT PROBLEM!"

"Do not be so hostile to Pietro, Black Widow," Panther shouted as he rammed daggers into the eyes of a Frost Giant. "He is right to be concerned of his sister! With such power, Loki can easily use her against us!"

"I think he was more concerned on the flesh & blood aspect!" Janet yelled. With a roar, she fired more stinger blasts, until she was taken by surprise and rammed by a massive fist into the ground.

"JAN!" Pym yelled. Fueled by rage, he grew to thirty feet and brutally slammed the Jotun responsible into the ground. Jan, however, was far from out of the count. Surprising the other heroes minus Pym, she grew from a minuscule six inches to a massive thirty feet, slamming her foot into a Jotun and ramming an entire group of them into the theater with a swat of her hand.

"Don't worry, honey!" Jan grinned, much to Pym's relief. "It'll take more than that to keep me down!"

"Umm…that might be something we may actually have to worry about!" Peter yelled out, his Spider-Sense, already going crazy, now going on haywire.

"What do you mean?!" Hawkeye yelled out.

"Something bad is coming!"

"Oh, because this isn't bad enough!" Carol yelled.

"Apparently not!" Spidey yelled as he pointed. "What the hell is-?!"

 **FREEAAAWWWAAAAAOOOMMMMM!**

A sudden energy blast of devastating proportions came out of nowhere, hitting the ground where Peter and Jess were standing just moments before Peter grabbed Jess and leapt out of the way. Numerous Frost Giants took the blast, falling dead or almost so. To the horror and shock of the assembled heroes, the Destroyer came lumbering back onto the scene.

"Well," Mockingbird yelled as she avoided an ice spear. "We're screwed."

"Talk about feeling useless," Carol muttered. She was still the only one who was able to stand toe to toe with the Destroyer, and right now she was currently depowered and unable to take it down. Her guns wouldn't do anything.

"Hulk!" Stark ordered. "Focus on the Destroyer! Wolverine and I will deal with that Ymir guy!"

Hulk roared in response, throwing Ymir into a nearby building before. Charging towards the Destroyer, Hulk made to attack, only to meet a very powerful metallic fist as the Destroyer slammed him into the ground. Hulk only got angrier and fired a massively powerful uppercut at the machine. Meanwhile, Ymir made to get up, only to meet savage claws slashing at his face, enticing roars of pain. Swinging his ice scythes blindly, he was hit with Iron Man' uni-beam blast as Wolverine struck at his leg.

"Ok, so our impromptu leader is facing the blue guy there," Hawkeye stated as the other heroes regrouped. "I nominate Danvers as our new field commander."

"What?" Carol blinked.

"You've got the experience, girl," Bobbi remarked. "You were Daisy's second in command, after all."

Carol looked at Jess, Clint, Natalia, Bobbi, King T'Challa, Pietro, Hank, Jan and…Spider-Man. Cocking her gun, she nodded with a smirk. "Ok, then, team, here's the plan. We still need to find Wanda and we'll need to get through these guys. Pietro, make as big a suction vortex as you can, and suck them all in. Jess, you distract them and break their ranks with your pheromones. Natalia, Clint and I will take the right flank while-!"

 **FFFRREAAAAASSWWEEEEEAAOOOMMMM!**

" **RRRAAAAAUUUGHHHHRRRHHH!"**

The heroes watched as the Destroyer fired a massive energy blast at the Hulk, so powerful that it sent the titan flying through various buildings and down multiple street, and eventually, right into the Empire State Building more than a dozen blocks over. People and soldiers were still in that general area, and the chaos got worse when the Hulk crashed into the bottom right side of the skyscraper. He was oblivious to the people around him, and oblivious to the damage he had caused in his impact. All the Hulk cared for right now was to smash the Destroyer to Kingdom Come. Oblivious to the other things, he jumped back to where he had been.

…Which meant that he was oblivious to the fact that the Empire State Building was now collapsing, with its foundation completely uneven.

Carol, Jess, T'Challa, Hank, Jan, Pietro, Clint, Natalia, Bobbi and Peter did see this, however. They watched as the skyscraper began sliding down and down, turning into a leaning position that easily threatened to topple and utterly crush everyone under it, along with killing everyone still inside the Empire State Building in the fall.

"Um…that isn't good," Jan said in shock.

"No kidding," Jess replied.

"Pym, can you hold up a building?!" Carol demanded.

"Of THAT size?!" Yellowjacket replied. "I've never tried something like that. I don't think the Particles enhance my strength levels to those proportions."

"I have an idea-!" Spider-Man began, only to be interrupted by a vicious roar. Jotun began descending upon them, taking advantage of their momentary distraction. Within seconds, the heroes, huddled together, were now either separated or in pairs.

"One vortex, coming up!" Quicksilver roared as he began moving at high supersonic speeds, creating a suction vortex that started pulling in the Frost Giants, each of whom were promptly greeting into the vortex by swift rapid punches.

"Good work, Quicksilver," Carol yelled as she, Clint and Natalia rapidly fired at the creatures. "Yellowjacket, we'll cover you so you can get to the Empire-!"

"KINDA BUSY HERE!" Pym yelled as he was jumped by a swarm of Jotun.

"Dammit!" Carol yelled in anger. "Spider-Man and Panther, help Pym! Jess, you-!" She was interrupted, however, as Spider-Man suddenly jumped over her head, rammed a powerful punch into a Jotun's face, and then swung off at high speeds. "Spider-Man! SPIDER-MAN!" she yelled in shocked anger, only for her cries to fall on deaf ears. "WHAT THE HELL!"

"Did…he just leave!?" Bobbi yelled in shock as she jumped up and rammed a bo staff into a Frost Giant's eye, making it roar in pain. "He said he was going to stay and help us and he LEFT!?"

"When I find him after this is over, I AM GOING TO KILL HIM!" Carol yelled viciously as she loaded her final cartridge into her gun.

"He must have a reason for leaving!" Panther yelled as he landed in a crouch, a dead Jotun falling behind him with daggers in its neck.

"Really?! What's going on that's more important than the end of the world?!" Natalia yelled.

"Well, I think there was a Knicks game going on today!" Clint offered.

"Clint, shut up!" Bobbi yelled.

Meanwhile, Iron Man and Wolverine were doing the best they could against Ymir. He may have been big, but he was very agile, and very apt with those ice blades of his. Unfortunately, he was up against two heroes instead of just one. Logan's claws were dripping blue with blood as he constantly slashed at the giant's thick skin and left numerous scars on Ymir's body. Stark fired his repulsors left and right, not relenting and not giving the titan any chance of recovering time. Ymir had faced Asgardians and trolls, and here he was, being humbled by mortals.

Hulk, however, was the worse off; no matter how much madder or stronger he got, the Destroyer was able to meet him in strength levels. Each blow was met by the other with full force. Punches on metal and metal on thick skin echoed out as the two titans continued to duke it out, unrelenting and undeterred. Unfortunately, Hulk was still a living thing that had a stamina reserve. Even though he could fight off countless armies and aliens and super powered beings, he still got tired and exhausted, and despite what most of the planet thought, the Incredible Hulk could still feel pain. The Destroyer had none of those limitations. A relentless metallic juggernaut, it just kept coming and coming.

 _"Y'know, Banner," Hulk mused in his mental landscape, "when we agreed to this, I wasn't expecting us to get our ass handed to us so soon!"_

 _"Yeah, neither was I," Bruce mused as he watched the battle from his place inside their shared conscious. "I really do wish that Captain Marvel can get her powers back some time soon."_

"This isn't going good!" Hawkeye yelled out as he fired more arrows.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious!" Carol yelled back. Suddenly, her gun stopped firing bullets and simply clicked every time she tried to shoot. She swore, realizing she was out of ammo. She barely saw the incoming ice spear in time, and dodged out of the way. "And I just ran out of ammo!"

"Jan and Nat!" Bobbi yelled. "Cover Carol!"

"I can take care of-!"

"Not like this, you can't!" Jan yelled as she went super-sized and slammed her foot into a Frost Giant's mouth. "You have no powers, and you have no weapons on you! You're going to get yourself killed!"

"Well, I can't just stay here and do nothing!"

An explosion then suddenly rang out as the Destroyer blasted the Hulk into the Times Square Visitors Center. With a vicious and agonizing roar, the Hulk crashed right through, flying out on the other side of the building onto W46 Street. Apparently, there were people inside the Visitor Center, hiding inside from the carnage that was now plaguing the city. With the large gaping hole in the building's side, people instantly broke out into a panic. Unfortunately, as human beings can't ever rationalize in a dangerous situation, the first thing they did was run right outside, right into the sights of the Destroyer and the Jotun. And the Jotun and Destroyer were supposed to be destroying everything in sight.

"Dammit; Jess and Panther, break off and keep those things away from the civilians!" Natalia ordered.

"Um, where's Hulk?!" Pym yelled as he saw the Destroyer lumbering in the direction of where the Hulk had crashed. This was also the direction where the people were screaming and panicking and running away.

Ymir, meanwhile, had just managed to impale Logan through the stomach with his ice scythe. The X-Man was currently doing anything he could to rip it out of his body, now that he was stuck impaled onto an abandoned bus. Stark was now forced on the defensive as Ymir switched to a mixture of brute force and skillful weaponry. Stark's shields and armor were starting to cave under the sheer force of pressure from Ymir's blows.

"There's too many of them!" Panther yelled as he threw another trio of daggers. He suddenly realized he was almost out of daggers.

"But we must continue!" Pietro yelled as he landed a thousand punch combo into a Jotun's leg in a mere second, forcing it down for Hawkeye to shoot an incendiary arrow at its face. "We have too much at stake to-!"

"MOMMY!"

Carol turned at the sounds of a child's voice, seeing a little boy tripping over a broken piece of car, abandoned by the masses of panicking people fleeing the area. In horror, she also saw the Destroyer lumbering in that direction. Jess and T'Challa were too busy keeping the Frost Giants at bay from the fleeing people. The child looked up and saw the metallic juggernaut lumbering in his direction. Carol didn't hesitate. In an instant, she was running to where the little boy lay.

"Danvers, what the hell are you doing?!" Natalia yelled as she saw the heroine running. Carol paid no heed; she just knew that she had to get to that child before the Destroyer, who she saw now preparing to fire yet another blast. Carol pushed herself to run faster, and as she did, she felt the contractions of her lungs as they absorbed more air, the burns in her thighs as she made the run, and something else in her body, but she couldn't quite place what it was at the moment. She had more pressing to worry about than her physical health, though.

"Don't worry, I'm going to get you to your mommy!" she cried as she approached the child.

"Captain Marvel?" he gasped.

"Yeah, that's me. Now hold on-!"

 **FFWWAAAASSEEAAAAWWWWWOOOOOMMMMM!**

It happened so fast.

Carol had barely grabbed the child and started getting up to run to his mother when she saw the Destroyer fire its blast. She had no time to dodge it or race for nearby shelter. So she did the only thing natural to her-she turned and shielded the boy with her body. It was as she did that that she remembered she was completely unable to actually protect him without her powers. She was going to burn with him. She didn't care; she needed to make the kid think everything was going to be ok, no matter what. So there she stayed, her body facing the blast and her arms protectively surrounding the child, waiting for the blast to impact her, and when it did, she expected in that brief nanosecond to feel intense burning and pain and agony before death.

What she didn't expect was her body taking the full energy of the blast, the heat playfully nipping at her exposed skin, and the entirety of the blast being absorbed by her, with the child unaffected at all.

She was stupefied as her body began glowing intensely and her eyes became white orbs again. The sensation of unending adrenaline coursed through her once more and Carol…Carol felt like she had absorbed the sun. Her powers had returned….magnified a thousand fold.

"Kid," she said as she let the boy go. "Run." And with that and a vicious yell, Captain Marvel unleashed a massive energy blast at the Destroyer, sending it flying back. And with a resonating boom, she slammed her fist into it the juggernaut's face.

"Whoa…" the boy murmured before running off to catch up with the still fleeing crowds.

"HOLY SHIT!" Bobbi yelled as she saw the Destroyer fly into the skies, Captain Marvel viciously and mercilessly decimating the titan.

"She's back!" Jess yelled in glee.

Sure enough, Carol regaining her powers gave the assembled heroes just the push they needed. Carol slammed the Destroyer into the ground and set her attention on the various Frost Giants in the area. Firing a relentless barrage of photon blasts, she hit every Jotun she could, blasting them into the ground, into the skies, into buildings. If that weren't enough, she also put her fighting skills into use as she landed merciless combos and hits and kicks onto the Jotun, breaking them and their weapons. Joined in with the attacks from the others, the Frost Giants suddenly found themselves overpowered by the woman who had managed to turn the Destroyer's power against them. A number of the Frost Giants fell dead while others sported massive injuries. Ymir saw this, and recognized that with this sudden boost of power, they couldn't win now. He confirmed this when Captain Marvel landed a devastating kick onto his arm when he tried to decapitate her.

"FROST GIANTS!" he roared, clutching his arm. "Make haste and retreat! To Loki and his followers!" With that, the Jotun began falling back, heading deeper into the city.

"We did it!" Jan declared.

"Not yet!" Carol said as she saw the Destroyer get back onto its feet...

 **KRAKABOOM!**

…Only to slammed right back into the ground by a burning, bleeding, vicious and pissed off Hulk. "THAT. MADE. ME. MAD!" he roared. Grabbing the juggernaut's faceless head, Hulk roared as he threw the Destroyer away, the metallic juggernaut flying off to parts unknown in the city.

"Damn you look terrible, Hulk," Jess gasped as he walked over to the other heroes. Indeed, the Hulk's durable skin was a mess. It was charred and burned, it was bleeding and it was darker in many places. There were many burn marks from the Destroyer's blast. But Hulk had a very potent healing factor, one which was being put to use as the injuries began to slowly repair themselves.

"Don't care," Hulk grumbled. "Still too mad."

"That was good work," Stark said, his visor retracting. "Especially you, Captain. We have them on the run."

"And they said they're heading for Loki," Natalia added.

"My guess that where Loki is," Stark continued, "so is Scarlet Witch. We follow them, save her and together we take that guy down."

"A sound plan," Pietro said instantly.

"And with the creatures recovering from this battle, we may stand a chance," Panther mused.

"Not sure, your Majesty," Stark countered. "That was just a large horde of them. My scanners show that there are still tons of these things across the city. The ones we fought didn't even account for half of the numbers I'm seeing. The National Guard, Marines and Air Force are fighting them off, as are the NYPD. A number of the local superhero and vigilante population are out fighting off the invasion. I can say that with them handling the immediate threats, we can go after Loki and-"

"Guys, I think we have incoming," Barton said, pointing to the skies. The heroes looked up to see a pair of SHIELD transport choppers descending from the skies. Upon touching down, several highly armed SHIELD agents came pouring out, followed by a familiar face to the present Warriors and Stark.

"Agent Coulson," the billionaire remarked as the Senior Sub-Commander approached. "I take it that this means a Helicarrier or two are on the way?"

"Sorry, Mr. Stark," Coulson replied, clothed in combat gear and armed with a machine gun. "Still a few hours out. We have S.T.R.I.K.E. units en route, though, ETA: 10 minutes. I'm sure you can understand that we were caught off guard with this situation."

"Top world security, my ass," Logan muttered.

"And the X-Men are where again, Mr. Howlett?" This earned him a glare from the mutant.

"What do you have for us, Coulson?" Morse asked.

"Orders from Fury to locate you four and Danvers. The _Archangel_ lost communications with your carrier, and the energy fields are dampening our signals to anywhere off the island. They also lost location on Danvers' old comm altogether. The Cocoon and Raft are dedicating most resources to combat the invasion, so I was tasked to find you, make sure you were alive and give you comm signal enhancers. These should get you all in contact with the _Archangel,_ or at least the Triskelion; they can broadcast the signals to any of the Helicarriers from there."

"...Wait, you just now came to find us?" Barton asked.

"In case you missed the memo, Barton, we're trying to fight a war here."

"I could've done all that," Stark mused. "I have no signal obstruction; I got a call to a pal of mine at the Pentagon easily. I could've enhanced their comm signals."

"Not on our frequency, Mr. Stark."

"What's the status on the rest of the Warriors?" Jess asked.

"Johnson's team is the closest; she should be here within the next twenty minutes. The rest are too far out. In terms of superpowers, the local heroes are all the New York's got. We haven't been able to reach the Fantastic Four, the X-Men aren't on the continent, and both Canada and Britain nationalized their local heroes as of forty minutes ago in preparation for imminent invasion."

"That's comforting," Hank mused sarcastically.

"We know who's at the source of all this," Carol said. "A new guy, definitely not on any database. Calls himself Loki, trying to conquer the world. We tussled with him just recently. With most of the efforts now concentrated on containing the alien army, we're going after Loki."

"Sounds like a plan," Coulson nodded. "Alert Fury and Hill once you establish communications. Danvers, your old SHIELD authorization is already imprinted onto these." With that, Coulson gave the Warriors and Carol comms with enhanced receivers. "We have multiple American armed forces out there, along with the HulkBusters and SWORD agents with our own people. You take care of the big shots, the ground forces will handle their ground forces, and our science boys will try to figure out how to close these gateways, or portals, or whatever."

"You should be aware that they are of magical essence," T'Challa added.

"Huh," Coulson replied. "Well, that's fantastic. Now I get to try and figure out where Stephen Strange is in all this." With that, Coulson as his SHIELD entourage headed back to their choppers, taking off and heading back into battle.

"I forgot how much fun he wasn't," Stark mused. "Anyways...JARVIS, get the Stark Industries satellites in orbit over Manhattan; get a full spectrum analysis of where Loki and his cronies are. Look for their specific bio-signatures, as well as check for a lone mutant signature around them. Also, patch in and connect the armor's networks to the same frequencies of these SHIELD comms."

'Very well, sir,' the AI replied.

"Authorization: Natalia Romanova," the Russian said into her comm, the other four following suit. "Passcode: Red Rose."

"Passcode: Trickshot," Barton said into his.

"Passcode: Feather," Morse said into hers.

"Passcode: Hala," Carol said into hers.

"Passcode: Cumberbatch." All eyes turned to Jess. "What? He's an excellent actor. He's confirmed for the role of Doctor Fate in DC's next movie lineup. "

The comms beeped into life, with JARVIS connecting to the SHIELD networks via the Mk22's networks. The four agents and Carol quickly placed them into their ears. "This is Carol Danvers contacting the Helicarrier _Archangel_ , clearance code: SW-02A, looking for contact with Director Nick Fury," the captain said, hoping the signals were transmitting. It was only seconds later when they got a response.

" _Glad to hear you're still kicking, Danvers,"_ the voice of Nick Fury replied. _"I assume Coulson finally caught up to you all. Signal transmissions aren't so good over Manhattan right now."_

"Yeah, we've heard," Stark replied. "Where are you guys? We could definitely use a Helicarrier here, Nick."

* * *

 ***SHIELD Helicarrier UNN** _ **Archangel**_ **, 1800ft above sea level. Atlantic Ocean***

 **1628 GMT/7:28 PM GFT, 4 May 2012**

* * *

"Don't start with me, Stark," Director Fury replied as he stared at the feeds on the screens. The entire command deck was buzzing as Hill and Sitwell barked out orders. "What the hell is happening down there?! I got blips all over Manhattan, and I got the Pentagon and the US President on the lines, not to mention NATO and pretty much every government on Earth-!"

 _"Some new villain named Loki is trying to take over the world,"_ Natalia's voice interrupted. _"Possible Class: Omega. The giant blue aliens are Frost Giants, or Jotun, his army. He's also got a few lieutenants, a near unstoppable weapon, and he turned four civilians into his own thugs. And he's captured the Scarlet Witch. We believed he's trying to harness her powers for his own gains."_

"Again with the would-be conquerors," the Director muttered. Swiping his hand on the screens before him, he brought up a thermal satellite feed of Manhattan. "What's your current status?"

" _We crashed in Midtown and we've been here for most of the invasion,"_ Bobbi replied. _"We've hooked up with Carol, along with Stark and the Pyms. As well as King T'Challa, the Maximoff Twins, the Wolverine, the Hulk and Spider-Man, although he's currently MIA. We're getting ready for another engagement with this Loki guy and his lieutenants."_

Fury couldn't help but blink in surprise. His agents were not only teaming up with Stark and an ex-agent, but also an escaped prisoner, one of the X-Men that they didn't know was on Manhattan, a pair of former terrorists, a head of state, a pair of local heroes and the bane of the Daily Bugle? "You all teamed up against this?"

 _"You bet, Fury,"_ Stark replied.

"Even the Hulk?"

 _"He's been a lot of help to us, Fury,"_ Jess' voice replied. _"Half of what we've been facing, we wouldn't be here talking to you if not for him._

"Ok…I'll want to talk about that later on." Fury brought up feeds from the Raft to see what the situation was down there. "Anyways, listen up. Coulson should've told you SHIELD reinforcements should be on scene any minute now and that our onsite science teams are working on closing these gates. He's the head agent on the ground, coordinated our efforts with the US military. Joined by the police and the local capes, they should be enough to handle the invasion. You five, Stark and the rest should be free to take handle the big guns of this whole invasion."

 _"What's the Council's word on this, Fury?"_ Carol's voice asked.

"Oh, peachy; they want me to nuke Manhattan," Fury replied. "And unfortunately, with these aliens starting to break the quarantine at all bridges and tunnels, it's a possible solution if we can't stop this here. Don't make me have to send that bird out." He brought up another feed of the areas surrounding Times Square and frowned. "Now, someone want to tell me why the Empire State Building is leaning in a slanted-?"

"Sir," Sitwell interrupted. "The Council's on the line again."

Fury swore. "Patch the call though." Returning to the line with the heroes, he continued, "You all seem to be our only shot of getting out of this. Don't make me regret trusting you." With that, Fury severed the connection.

"Sir," Hill asked as she and Sitwell approached him. "Can we really trust these superheroes and vigilantes?"

Fury stared at his feed. SHIELD officially only barely tolerated superheroes and vigilantes, as the Council stated. But Fury himself, he knew there were threats in the world only their kind could handle. This was probably one of them. Granted, he could've just taken complete control of the situation and had them all follow his orders. The problem with that was he had no idea what was going on other than it was an invasion, despite all the data they were getting, and they knew who was at the top of it. No, he needed to put his pride away, and put some trust in this union of heroes.

"I'd like to think so, Hill."

* * *

 ***Times Square, Manhattan, New York City***

 **1235 GMT/5:35 PM EST, 4 May 2012**

* * *

"Oh my God," Bobbi gasped. "THE EMPIRE STATE BUILDING, I COMPLETELY FOR-…"

She found herself silent as she and the other assembled heroes saw that the world famous skyscraper was actually…still standing, albeit slanting.

"Um…wasn't it, like, falling to its doom?" Clint asked.

"It was…." Stark mumbled. "JARVIS, scan the area. Alright, people are going to need our help there, especially with evacuating the building. Let's get there before we-!" A blip in his radar systems interrupted him, JARVIS having finished scanning the area. "Mother of God...Someone is holding the ESB up!"

That caught the heroes completely by surprise. "Wait, what?!" Pym gaped.

"I'm serious, my scanners show someone is holding up the Empire State Building! I can't see who with all the debris for a complete ID scanning, but someone is definitely holding it up. For how much longer...not sure; I've got minute vibrations and shifting in the building's foundation. It looks like whoever is down there is struggling."

"Then you, Danvers, Hulk and Pietro go on ahead!" Natalia replied. "The rest of us will catch up as fast as we can!"

Iron Man nodded before he, Carol, Hulk and Quicksilver raced off or jumped off to the skyscraper. Pietro was the first to arrive, followed by Carol 10 seconds later, who came in time to see Pietro exiting the skyscraper.

"They're evacuating as fast as they can," he told her as she landed, three people with him. "I'm helping them out, but the police say that the superhuman holding up the building may not last longer." With that, the mutant sped off back into the building. The heroine took in the sight of police, paramedics and firefighters going as fast as they could and as best they could to get to the civilians and evacuate them as fast as they could. She briefly wondered who was under the giant infrastructure, holding up all that weight. Perhaps he or she would be willing to join their cause. But first, she needed to help out with evacuation.

Carol was about to fly over to the skyscraper, when a little girl ran up to her, looking worried. "Captain Marvel!"

"Hey, little one," she replied as she leaned down, a smile on her face. "What's wrong?"

"You have to help him! He's hurting! I think holding up the building is hurting him!"

This caught Carol's attention. "Who?" she asked as Hulk and Iron Man arrived.

"Spider-Man!" This completely surprised Carol. "Hurry, he's under there!" the girl continued as she pointed to a section where the building's loose foundation almost met the streets. Carol couldn't believe what she had heard; SPIDER-MAN?! That stupid idiotic clown? Unconvinced, Carol dashed over to where the girl had pointed and lowered herself to see what was inside.

She was met with white lenses and a shaking spandex covered body. There in front of her, supporting the building on his shoulders and back, an extreme amount of weight, was the Amazing Spider-Man.

"Hey," Peter said with a strained voice. "Yeah…this was the idea I had. Sorry for running off, but I really didn't think there was another way. Guess you guys managed to take them down, though." Peter saw the heroine was still looking at him with shock. "Um…Captain Marvel, not to be much of a bother, but you think you could…?"

"Oh, right," Carol said as she came back to reality. With essentially relative ease due to her strength, Carol took the building in her hands and raised it up, setting the skyscraper back into its foundation. She balanced the gigantic infrastructure onto its base as best she could, ensuring that it wouldn't fall again. Peter then collapsed onto the ground, exhausted as his stamina reserves began to slowly replenish themselves.

As people cheered, the other heroes arrived on scene and came beside Hulk and Stark, notice their surprised expressions. They turned and watched as Captain Marvel touched down and helped Spider-Man onto his feet. It took them a few seconds to put two and two together.

"Wait…it was _Spider-Man_?!" Wasp gasped in shock. "HE was the one holding up the building?!"

"I can barely believe it myself," Stark replied in awe. The other heroes, even Wolverine, were in utter surprise. As a result, none of them noticed the police car slowly pull up behind them.

Carol, as she helped the arachnid onto his feet, was still in awe, wonder and shock. She knew that he faced some pretty strong supervillains, but this kind of strength display? She had never heard of Spider-Man performing such a feat before today. It surprised her. And she noticed that his body, though clearly able to perform such a feat, was also clearly not accustomed to doing so. His body was shaking and he was breathing heavier than a normal person should ever be able to. She never would've expected something like this from Spider-Man at all, especially after their…unusual first encounter just earlier today. Allowing him to lean on her, she helped him over to the other heroes, still in awe. She somehow felt she needed to say something after seeing this-some form of praise or congratulation or encouragement. All she could really think of, however, was…

"You're strong."

She was surprised to hear the vigilante chuckled and hoarsely reply, "I know." Thinking he was being egoistic, Carol was about to retort with anger when he added, "It hurts, though…being strong isn't all that fun."

The two came over to the others. "Webs, you ok?" Logan asked.

"Yeah," Peter replied. "Just got to…catch my breath. I'll be dandy in a few."

"That was pretty impressive," Jess said.

"Really, man," Clint agreed. "Never would've expected that from you."

"No one does," the vigilante replied. "It helps with the underdog vibe I try to give off."

"You're no underdog here, Spider-Man," Stark said with a nod. "We're here protecting people; and hopefully, you perform just as well when we face Loki again." Facing all his allies, he continued, "Ok, everyone…we didn't do so well fighting Loki the first time; we were caught off-guard, a lot. But, we have another chance to bring him down. We're taking the fight to Loki this time. He caught us by surprise the first time, sure, but now-"

"You battled Loki?"

The heroes all turned behind them, surprised by the new voice. They were greeted with the sight of a handsome blonde man standing before them, wearing jeans, a black shirt and a dark blue jacket. He wore his long hair in a low rise ponytail and had a slight scruff of beard. He had a look of curiosity and confusion on his face.

"I'm...sorry," Stark said with slight surprise. "What did you say?"

"I heard you," the man continued. "You said you battled Loki."

"Wait…" Peter said, his eyes narrowed under his mask. "You look familiar...yeah, you're Dr. Donald Bl-"

"Tho...Donald!" Racing up to them was a beautiful brunette woman of around the age of late twenties or early thirties. "Babe…" she gasped as she finally came to his side. "I told you...not to-"

"Dr. Jane Foster?!" Hank said in surprise. "And Dr. Donald Blake?!"

"Doctor Pym, Jan...nice to...see you...again…"

"Holy…you guys are the experts in Einstein-Rosen theory!" Peter exclaimed. "I did my thesis on your work! You two changed the entire wormhole view! You two are the most well respected minds in your field of work."

"And…he knows about Loki…" Natalia said in suspicion.

"Unusual, being these two were nowhere near the battle," Panther stated, also suspicious.

"Oh..." Peter replied, rubbing his neck. "Yeah...that is kind of unsettling and weird."

"Yeah, how do you know about Loki?" Barton asked. "You two weren't around when we fought the guy."

"Yeah…we weren't even in Manhattan when this whole thing started," Jane Foster replied. " _This_ guy stole a cop car to get us here once we found out what was going on."

"Wait, you _willing_ came…?" Jan asked in confusion. " _Why?"_

"How did you even get past the blockade?" Jess asked.

"That isn't the important concern here," the blonde man replied. "What matters is this: if you are going to do battle with Loki again, you will need my aid. I have dealt with Loki much in the last hundreds of years. You may be some of the greatest champions of Earth, some of Midgard's mightiest heroes, but against a god, you truly stand no chance. You need my help."

"…Is anyone else freaked out?" Bobbi asked after several moments of silence.

"Should I smash him?" Hulk asked with complete seriousness.

"NO!" Jane yelled. "Don't try to hurt him!"

"I don' like this," Logan growled. "Guy just randomly shows up and starts talkin' about the world's newest supervillain sensation like they grew up together or somethin' like that."

"I'm with Logan," Clint said. "This doesn't seem right."

"Ok, look," Jane sighed, trying to defend Thor. "I know he may sound like a crazy psychotic person; trust me, I thought the same thing when we first met. But he's telling the truth. I've been with him for three years now, and what he first said to me seemed impossible, not to mention insane and unsettling, but-"

"That isn't the issue right now," Iron Man said as he approached the blonde man, suspicion all over his face. "He sounds crazy, yeah, but that's not the big issue here. What I want to know is why you know about this 'Loki' guy and how you even know his name or that he exists, being that he just came to Earth a little more than an hour ago."

Thor sighed and looked directly into Stark's eyes. "Because…he is my brother."

* * *

 _ **XXXXX**_

 _ **TO BE CONTINUED….**_

* * *

 **Minor Note: DC Comics is the comic giant of this Marvel-verse, as noted by my Cumberbatch/Doctor Fate reference. Assume that they have a successful movie-verse established. Not really an important detail, but just so you all know.**


	6. Response to a Kind Review (Sarcasm)

_**To all readers and followers of this story: no, this isn't an update or another chapter. This is me responding to a guest reviewer, by the name of "star," who thinks he/she knows it all, trying to be a big guy and get back at me from the last time I had to correct him/her when he/she "critiqued"/flamed me.**_

 _ **To my readers, just please ignore this, and read the story itself. Enjoy it and give me some critique and feedback, all that good jazz. You'll know this isn't for you so just let it pass by you. Of course, you'll all read it anyways, regardless what I tell you or not, but I ask that none of you reply to this , or just keep the comments to yourself (which some may not do anyways). Those who know me and have read my other stories know that if you try to flame me in a sad or pathetic way, I call them out in public and tear them down. This is just another one of those times.**_

 _ **Now, to you, guest reviewer "star"...**_

 _ **Actually, no, I'll call you by your actual account name: vinayakdj1.**_

 _ **What? Did you really think I wouldn't recognize you writing style and broken English? Sir/ma'am, trying to troll/get back at me via a guest role just tells me you're afraid of anyone actually replying or confronting you, trying to avoid any backlash. That, sir/ma'am, is just plain sad and pathetic. In trying to stay hidden, instead I'm calling you out for all the world to see.**_

 _ **So, vinayakdj1, this is the review you "so cleverly" tried to "flame" me with in your attempt to get back at me:**_

U mad bro?  
do you think us idiots who can't distinguish b/w what was and what is?  
this... version II of yours is merely a farce. A simple excuse to buy time. Time to revive your muse that has left you high and dry.  
This is no rewrite... it's merely a minor adjustment. A proof reading if you may. Here is how i can day this:-  
1\. The plot is the same... jotuns again -_-  
2\. Other than information that doesn't concern this arc... there is little deviation. Seriously why do we need to know abt the various S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarriers when they are nowhere in site... as usual! Even Hill said that they crash more than they fly.  
3\. other than point 2 there is little change in terms of the battles... the empire state building... etc. Sure Captain America isn't on the scene but we can just skip the chappy and won't miss a thing.  
4\. U may have omitted Cap from the rewrite but... you obviously copy pasted this chapter and so didn't do a through reading. The para where hulk switched ymir for the destroyer... it is written that Cap, ironman and wolverine were fighting ymir. i suggest thoroughly rereading future chappy b4 pasting them.  
5\. Where is Hawkeye getting all these arrows from? O_o  
6\. How is mockingbird able to fight this long... shouldn't she be of limited stamina?  
7\. You're contradicting your own writing... in earlier chapters you wrote that the police..SWAT and even the agents are getting hammered by the frost giants since only high caliber rounds can penetrate their skins... yet black widows tiny pistols and carol's machine gun can easily do the job? how?  
8\. Again with the contradiction... the jotuns are not just your run-in-the-mill minions... they ARE gods just like all asgardians are gods and not just Odin and his army. Yet the heroes are able to kill them.. even when you have... on a number of occasions... written that mortals can't beat gods.  
9\. spiderman can close portals with his webbing? are you kidding me? and how can he web the frosties with their ice cold bodies n ol?  
10\. A lil lesson in common sense. In this chapter.. the heroes are getting swarmed by the frost giants yet when a kid is about to become vapors thanks to the destroyer... suddenly everyone has the time to give expert comments... the kid has the tym to talk to a running carol but can't run away... a running carol has the tym to talk while running and the destroyer takes his sweet tym to charge it's sun beam so that it would fire exactly when carol reached the kid... so very cliche. It would not kill to be a lil pragmatic now would it?  
11\. Last but not the least... re write or not... i hoping to see a different roster for this version... there r enough works out their for these superheroes... they get all the love... i was hoping you would use the more obscure bunch for your fic... ahwell.

P.S. if you are gonna whine again about how I'm not doin a better job... then plz don't... i am not someone who talks billshit just to push someone's buttons and this tym i have given ample reasons for my dissatisfaction. Try to justify your fic rather than pushing the blame on the viewers.

 _ **Sigh…**_

 _ **First off, "U mad bro?" ? Really? Are you trying to sound like a troll when "trying" to "criticize" me vinayakdj1? And the bit after that? Stop trying to sound like a professional; it's unbecoming of you.**_

 _ **Alright, you gave all these comments as your "ample reasons for dissatisfaction," as you've written. Here's the problem: they're not. They're just not. If you were a comic fan and actually read throughout my story, as well as actually knew anything about what you were talking about, you would see that your points are fallible and have no grounds to stand on. So, allow me to school you as I counter your "ample reasons":**_

 _ **Before even getting to your points: "This is not a rewrite...it's merely a minor adjustment." Learn your terms, vinayakdj1. The Oxford English Dictionary defines "rewrite" as follows: "**_ _ **The act of rewriting or revising a text; a revised version of a text. (Chiefly in journalistic and publishing use.)" The definition as given by Google searching "rewrite" is "writing (something) again so as to alter or improve it." In my notice of restarting this story, I explicitly stated that that was what I was doing, and doing on a new level. That's what this story is, me improving it and altering it. Pay attention, pal; you might learn something.**_

 _ **Point 1: "Jotun again." If you have a problem with my villain choice, that's your issue. Tell me, what else would Loki use for invading Earth? Again: "alter" (To make (a person or thing) otherwise or different in SOME respect), not completely change. I also mentioned in the aforementioned notice that the first arc's plot would mostly stay the same.**_

 _ **Point 2: Why know about all the helicarriers and such? Simple answer: MILITARY RESPONSE. If there's an invasion going on, people want to know where their backup is and how far out it is, and their ETA. Any military would want to know response time of forces and their locations when an invasion/attack is happening. Keen example: the police finding out military response time to the Chitauri invasion in "The Avengers." Seeing an invasion, Iron Man would want to know if anyone's responding. Same with Hill and Fury, even if they're an ocean away, as their agents are there fighting. Speaking of Hill, her "Secret Invasion" remark on the helicarrier has no relevant impact here.**_

 _ **Point 3: Again, I explicitly mentioned there would be SOME changes for better storytelling and later arc impacts. Do I really need to show my exact quote? "...the basic plotline[s] for 'Assemble'...are the same as well. There are some changes, however, so bear that in mind." How much clearer do you want it, vinayakdj1? And if you feel compelled to skip, by all means, go ahead. Wait until the real changes come along, but don't complain about a "lack of" any change after I said what I explicitly said.**_

 _ **Point 4: Your argument here is invalid as that mistake was pointed out by another reader a little more than an hour after I posted, which I fixed. You reviewed literally a day later, AFTER I fixed the mistake. Yes, I need to proofread, but catching ONE mistake AFTER it's been fixed? Please, actually read before reviewing, pal.**_

 _ **Point 5: You know what? This is probably the only point where you actually have validity and where I give you credit. Hawkeye shooting arrows left and right, non stop, with a seemingly limitless supply? Alright, valid point. I will address that next chapter. Don't get too cocky though, I'm not done with you yet.**_

 _ **Point 6: Mockingbird is human, agreed. So is MCU Black Widow. MCU Widow doesn't have any enhancements as canon Widow does, and yet fought pretty hard in the Chitauri invasion, as Bobbi is doing here. Why? SHIELD training. As explained in various comics, and in the MCU such as in Agents of SHIELD, SHIELD ops trains is intensive and demanding, more so than standard military or black ops training. This is even more so for their Super Agents, or their Secret Warriors. Intensive exercise and training on that level is bound to increase stamina reserves immensely, explaining Bobbi's abilities here. Everyone else seemed to get that; don't know why you didn't.**_

 _ **Point 7: Never did I say explicitly that only high caliber bullets harm the Jotun. You're thinking of when Widow used their transport's ON BOARD machine gun, and all military aircraft have high caliber guns. That was what was used while they were on their carrier fighter. Also, never did I explicitly say the police, SWAT, and SHIELD & SWORD agents are being hammered by the Jotun because of their lack of high caliber weapons. I specifically wrote: "Even with the local SHIELD agents and SWORD personnel arriving to reinforce their efforts, the situation was badly against their favor." That means NUMBERS; reinforced in terms of numbers! The Jotun, as I wrote, are coming in seemingly limitless numbers, while there are only so many police and agents in Manhattan. The police and SWAT also didn't have enough "combat shotguns and assault rifles to hand out." I also said that the Warriors were going for the Jotuns' joints and eyes! KNOWN vulnerable points! Again, everyone else seemed to notice and get this; not sure why you didn't. As for Widow, she is using her stingers and M27 machine gun, which I again explicitly mentioned. And Carol; she is using a better powered gun. Both ladies have extensive training; they know where to shoot, as I mentioned above. And SHIELD is known to have better weaponry than almost all the rest of the world. Have you read any comics at all? Again, everyone else seemed to notice and get this; not sure why you didn't. **_

_**Which leads me to Point 8: THE JOTUN ARE**_ **NOT** _ **GODS. Not even in**_ **actual Norse Mythology** _ **; they are a mythical race, explicitly explained as different from the Aesir and Vanir. Nearly immortal and very durable (in Marvel standards at least), yes, but not gods; same example as the Hydra or the Amazons in comparison to the Olympians deities in Greek Mythology. The Jotun, and the ASGARDIANS THEMSELVES, as explained by Marvel, are an extradimensional/extraterrestrial race (depending on the universe), with the Aesir and Vanir WORSHIPPED as gods. The Jotun themselves are a monster race. They are killable, which is why they are being killed here! The heroes are using powers, abilities and weapons to match them, some being able to match actual gods/beings worshipped as gods. Pay attention, pal.**_

 _ **Point 9: Spider-Man is TRYING to web them shut, as in he's trying to block or plug the portals. And I EXPLICITLY wrote that it was only temporary. Read. Again, everyone else seemed to get this… And how can he web the Jotun? His webbing is...what's the term...ah yes, ADHESIVE AND STICKY. It clings to everything he webs. Do you know your Spider-Man? I don't think you know your Spider-Man.**_

 _ **Point 10: Here's a little lesson in common sense for YOU: Multitasking. Soldiers and basically anyone who can talk or use sign language can do so while running or walking, or in this case, engaged in combat. This was shown in "The Avengers," both Captain America movies and in "Avengers: Age of Ultron." You're telling me it's impossible for Carol or any individual to talk/call out when running? Are you serious? As for that kid not moving as the Destroyer approached: it's called being frozen in fear. Any human can attest to that. It's a common thing, believe it or not, especially in children. The heroes were also talking to each other whilst in combat BEFORE the Destroyer made for that kid. And the kid was talking to Carol AS SHE ARRIVED TO HIM AND MADE TO CARRY HIM AWAY. Are you even reading or paying attention? And did you see "Thor?" The Destroyer's weapon (not a sun beam, btw!) takes a bit to energize before firing, the same as in the comics! GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT, PAL! Cliche? Lack of pragmatism?**_ **This is a fanfiction of comics** _ **. Even ignoring that detail that shuts down your "argument" alone, real facts show the pragmatism here.**_

 _ **Point 11: This isn't even a point, but just seemingly you whining. I don't know what to tell you. I explicitly said in the notice I put up AT THE SAME TIME I UPLOADED THE SECOND VERSION that I was sticking with the same roster as before. You found out as everyone else found out, and clearly before you read this version as V1 is on your favorites list. If you don't like that I'm using the same roster, I'm sorry-actually, no, I'm not.**_

 _ **Your PS: When I said "do a better job" in response to when you said "terrible what passes for an English Major these days," I meant "a better job writing the story." You essentially called my story crap and I replied accordingly. I thought that was easily implied; guess not. And did you really ask me not to "whine" and respond to your remarks? And you really thought I would take your claims lying down? When you claim you don't "talk bullshit" and make "ample reasons of dissatisfaction?" You might as well have put a target on yourself. Your first review on this story was essential BS. You pushed my buttons with your inaccurate claims, insulting my work and my knowledge on what I'm writing. A response was pretty much guaranteed.**_

 _ **Your GRAMMAR & SPELLING:**_

" _ **Here is how I can SEE this."**_

" _ **...why do we need to know ABOUT the various SHIELD Helicarriers when they are nowhere in SIGHT."**_

" _ **...skip the CHAPTER…"**_

" _ **YOU may have omitted...the PARAGRAPH where Hulk switched Ymir...I suggest thoroughly rereading future CHAPTERS BEFORE POSTING them."**_

" _ **Yet Black WIDOW'S tiny pistols and Carol's…"**_

" _ **The Jotun are not your run-OF-the mill minions; they ARE gods…"**_

" _ **And how can he web the FROST GIANTS with their ice cold bodies AND ALL?"**_

" _ **A LITTLE lesson in common sense...when a kid is about to be VAPORIZED thanks to the...the kid has the TIME**_ **(this is sad because you spelled it right in the last sentence)** _**to talk to a running Carol...and the Destroyer takes ITS sweet TIME to charge ITS sun beam… It would not kill to be a LITTLE pragmatic now, would it?"**_

" _ **Last but NOT LEAST….REWRITE or not...there ARE enough works out THERE for these superheroes….OH WELL"**_

" _ **If you are gonna whine again about how I'm not DOING a better job...then PLEASE don't… and this TIME I have given you ample reasons for my dissatisfaction."**_

 _ **Beside that one valid point you made about Hawkeye, vinayakdj1, all your "claims" had no real basis and factual anything to back them up. And your grammar, or lack thereof, just took away what little meaning there was to your "flame" anyways. Your inability to actually make sure your "claims" were well placed is laughably sad, and the fact you didn't have the balls to even use your own account to review just shows that you're afraid of anyone responding to you and that you fear anyone confronting you. Well, nice try but no. Now, vinayakdj1, you instead have your lack of knowledge out in the open for everyone to see. Nice going on your part.**_

 _ **I'll tell you the same thing I told you last time: *Tsk tsk tsk* terrible what some people think passes as English these days.**_

 _ **Hmm, I think I just...yes, I just justified my fic here in countering your "claims" and called out your lack of reading and fact-checking, vinayakdj1.**_

 _ ***drops mic***_

 _ **In the words of Wilmer Valderrama's Fez: "I said good day." Thank you and don't come again, vinayakdj1. Take your business elsewhere. I won't be taking your bullshit.**_

 _ **Let this be a warning to all my readers: I don't play this game. I put a lot of research into my works and stories, making sure to go through various comic sources and such, as well as real facts and everyday experiences (and apparently, common sense) to write my stories. If any one of you tries to call me out on something, please be sure to have your facts straight and be sure of what you're going to say before doing so. I have no problem in being corrected if I'm confronted with the facts; I welcome it gladly. Manners like this, though, is where the problem is. I've done this in my "Vengeance" story and my "Bat and Amazon" story to other reviewers who claimed to know what they were talking about. I will not hesitate at all to call you out in public if you claim to know better when I know otherwise. Again, if confronted with the real facts, I will welcome to criticism gladly. If you're going to do something like what this person, then you'd better expect a similar response. You've been warned.**_

 _ **Now, since I know many of you other readers were reading this anyways, know that the next rewrite chapter will be up by Saturday night the latest.**_


	7. Assemble! Part 6

_**Thanks to some helpful details from reviewer "Legacy of the Thirteen Primes," I've better addressed the points of Wanda magical and arcane abilities in relation to her probability manipulation, particularly the Chaos Magic aspect. I will not fully address it here, though, as I want to leave some for a future Wanda-centric arc. They also pointed out an interesting tidbit to me in relation to Loki's strength and magic skills. I'll be using detail that here, keep an eye out.**_

 _ **And in response to the guest reviewer who gave me that Wiki link, I'm familiar with that, yes (one of my favorite N. Avengers story arcs, actually). I didn't incorporate that here, though, but that may happen in the future.**_

 _ **Also, I realized I've been doing the time zones wrong. That's been fixed in all the chapters.**_

 _ ***Insert Disclaimer Here***_

* * *

Chapter 6: Assemble! Part 6

* * *

 ***Central Park, Manhattan, New York City. Same time***

 **1244 GMT/5:44 PM EST, 4 May 2012**

* * *

"Nnnnrrraaaaaghhhh!"

"My Lord, you have to-"

"No! I can and will-!"

"Rrrrraaaaaaaarghhhh!"

"Loki-!"

"AAAAAAAHHHHH!"

"NNRRRRRAAAAAAAGGHHHH!"

 **CRAKOOOM!**

"Loki!" Amora yelled out as Loki was sent flying back, crashing into one of the trademark boulder formations of Central Park. The Trickster impacted with a powerful thud. He emitted a cry of pain, but from the impact, but from his fifth attempt at attempting to strip the Scarlet Witch of her powers. The Enchantress quickly teleported over to where Loki had crashed.

"Holy…" Wrecker muttered in shock as he and his three friends turned to the floated and imprisoned form of the Scarlet Witch. "What the hell…?"

Wanda was panting heavily, her body shaking with the stress and pain that had been flowing through her all this time. Her scarlet clothing was ripped in several areas, billowing somewhat with smoke from the burst of colliding magics. Sweat dripped from her forehead and face, the strain overwhelming the mutant sorceress. Wanda had been subjected for the last half hour to Loki ripping her powers away from her...or at least, trying to. Each of his attempts had failed, and she didn't understand why. But it hurt immensely, the processes that Loki used to try and take her powers. And she could see that not only was he extremely angered at the situation, he believed she was doing it purposely. She had no idea why this was happening, only that each time she was ravaged by Loki's magic, her own hex magics would react and repel it, with explosive results. It was physically taking its toll on Wanda, however, both enduring Loki's attempts and somehow fending them off.

All she knew was that somehow, her own arcane abilities were resisting Loki's efforts to drain them.

And it angered the God of Mischief immensely.

"Loki," Amora said as she offered him her hand. "Perhaps you should hold yourself for-"

"This...is tiresome," Loki interrupted with anger, shoving Amora's hand aside as she helped him back to his feet. Walking back over to Wanda, he clenched his fist in anger, which soon began to glow brightly once again. "What do you hope to accomplish from this resistance of yours? You are only delaying the inevitable; your magics will be mine."

"I...told you," Wanda panted, glaring at Loki. "I don't...know why this is happening. But I wouldn't...deny that I don't find myself appreciating the fact. And if it was inevitable, Loki...you would've succeeded long ago."

"Your small defiance is of no significance, mortal. I will pass the years, if I must, to claim that which is inside you. And I will take this realm as well, and I will then take Asgard itself, and then all the Asgardian Realms. It is my birthright, my destiny."

"Ha…birthright; I used to think that was my birthright, too. To rule this world and the Homo sapiens; let me tell you something, Loki. That is simply a delusion, a warped concept that you're superior to the rest. You aren't; you are going to fall, just as any other tyrant. Mankind, mutantkind…all life on this Earth will never submit. Not to men like you."

"There are no men like me," Loki smirked.

"There are always men like you," Wanda retorted. "My father is a prime example."

"Loki!" All eyes turned towards the roaring voice. They were greeted by the sight of Ymir, followed by at least thirty more of the Jotun Frost Giants. Many of them had a number of wounds. You sent us to a defeat! You deceived us, Trickster!" the Frost Giant king roared in rage, brandishing his weapons.

The Executioner gripped his ax tightly, readying himself to confront the Jotun if need be. Loki motioned for him to stand down, however, and approached Ymir. "What is it that you mean, Ymir?"

"The mortals you sent us to slaughter," Ymir snarled. "Your Enchantress promised us that they would be like pigs at the slaughter…but they are nothing as such. They are powerful. They have a fighting spirit unlike anything I have ever seen, even in the wars against Asgard. They refuse to surrender, and they refuse to fall. Even the ones who have no abilities as the others, they do not show fear. One of them stood against the Destroyer itself, Laufeyson, and the green brutish monster has sent it to parts unknown."

At this, Loki arched an eyebrow in great surprise. This was shocking news, to say the least. "Amora?"

The Asgardian sorceress didn't reply, simply raising up her palm, a swirl of green magical energy amassing in it. It morphed into a sphere, and images began to appear in it, showing the union of heroes. "Yes, they indeed still stand strong. And it appears that the half breed still lives. They've been joined by three more. It appears they may be preparing to meet us in battle once again."

"Ha," Wanda chuckled, a small smirk on her lips. "And the mad tyrant shall fall."

Loki took one glance at her before he nonchalantly fired a devastating blast from his scepter at her. Wanda screamed in agonizing pain. It was like being burned alive and her inside being torn apart.

"Let them come, then," Loki smirked. "We will be ready...and we will destroy them and set an example for the rest of Midgard. Ymir, you will stand with us when they come. Send for as many Frost Giants as you can, an army or even bigger. Amora, be a dear and locate the Destroyer, and bring him back to our ranks." Turning towards the Wrecker and his pals, Loki continued, "As for you four, this will be your greatest test of loyalty. You have faithfully served my cause until now. Stand by my side until the end, and you shall gain a great privilege in this world."

"You don't need to tell us twice," Wrecker sneered as his fellow criminals nodded in agreement. "We're with you to the end on this, Loki. Especially if it means we get some good compensation here."

Loki smirked before turning back to Wanda. They glared at each other for several moments before his hand began glowing again. "It is time that Midgard and all who inhabit it learn their rightful place."

* * *

 ***Empire State Building. Midtown, Manhattan, New York City. Same time***

 **1244 GMT/5:44 PM EST, 4 May 2012**

* * *

"Wait…what?" Jan gasped.

"Did I hear that right?" Hawkeye said, looking to Spider-Man standing next to him. "Did you hear him say what I think he said?"

"Well, unless he said he just got 15% of car insurance by switching to Geico, then yeah, I did," the Webhead replied, to which Barton face palmed.

"You're…you're his brother?" Iron Man asked, his expression one of incredulity.

The man known as the scientist, Dr. Donald Blake, sighed and nodded his head. "Yes…I am."

Stark tilted his head slightly in disbelief, doubt written across his face. "...JARVIS?"

After a few moments, the AI replied, 'Scans show that he has no superhuman or supernatural abilities about him, sir.'

"So, that means he isn't whatever that Loki guy is?" Peter asked.

"That does not mean we are not brothers," Blake replied.

"Yeah, sorry, I'm not buying it," Stark said. "Loki's biological signature's nothing like a human one. Different anatomy, biological make-up, muscle density and everything. But yours is exactly like any old human bio-signature! He's basically an alien, and a pretty powerful one at that. He was able to go head to head to both the Hulk and Captain Marvel, and not many can do that. He literally showed up on Earth an hour ago. How can he be your brother if he's like that and you're…this?"

"Because we are not of the same species," Thor replied.

"...That's your comeback?"

"It's true. Even as I am now as I am, we are not of the same species."

"Then how are you brothers?" Logan asked gruffly. "Besides what Stark just said, you look and smell like a typical do-gooder kind of guy."

"Loki is originally Jotun Frost Giant, while I am Asga-"

"The hell is a Jotun Frost Giant?"

"The same creatures that are laying waste to Manhattan. They are the Frost Giants, of the realm of Jotunheim, hence the term 'Jotun.'"

"Wait a minute," Bobbi exclaimed. "He's one of _those_ things?!"

"Then why isn't he tall, ugly and blue?" Peter asked.

"Because he was a deformed infant when my father found him millennia ago, after the last great war between Asgard and Jotunheim," Thor answered. "My father took him in as one of his own, raised him as he raised me."

"Yeah, and he did a _great_ job, it seems," Jess muttered with sarcasm, looking at the destruction around them all. "Even _if_ what you're saying is true."

"I concur," T'Challa nodded. "Loki is an insane psychopath with a god complex, and a homicidal maniac with apparent and complete disregard for life."

"...he _is_ adopted."

"Asgard and Jotunheim…" Jan muttered to herself. "Guys...that's from Norse mythology. I remember learning this in college; Asgard was the realm of the Norse Gods, and Jotunheim was where all the giants lived. Asgard was ruled by the All-Father, Odin, and he had three sons...oh, my God. How did I not remember that earlier? One of the son's names was Loki, and he…"

"...and Loki was the Norse God of Mischief," Natalia said, finishing her sentence. " _Bohze moi…_ "

"Wait...so we're being invaded by a Norse God?" Stark asked incredulity. "No...no way. C'mon, that's just complete crap. You can't seriously be thinking-"

"Believe what you want, Iron Man," Blake nodded. "The fact is that the Asgardians are the gods of the Nordic and Germanic peoples of old. Though not a full-fledged Asgardian, Loki is still indeed a member of the Asgardian pantheon. As am I."

The heroes again turned towards the scientists, looking at him with a mixture of surprise, incredulity, and shock. A few of them turned to Jane Foster, who just shrugged and nodded in resignation. "What did you say?" Pietro asked.

"I am also a god, an Asgardian god. Donald Blake isn't my real name; just an alias I've used since living on Midgard. My real name is Thor Odinson, and I am the God of Thunder."

The heroes were silent for a few moments, the impact of the words the man before them absorbed into their minds.

"Huh," Hulk soon scoffed. "Puny god."

"I kind of have to agree with Hulk," Jess agreed. "Loki said he was a god, too, and he was a bit…strong, to say the least. You? Yeah I'm sorry, you have godly good looks, but I don't think you're a god."

"We should know," Barton added. "We work with one. Phobos…good kid, but he needs to stop with the creepy stares. Speaking of which...where the hell is his dad in all this…?" he muttered to himself. At that, Stark looked at him in shock.

"I assure you all, I am indeed a god," Blake, now Thor, replied. "I know it appears otherwise but that is because of my own doing. I had foolishly almost sparked another war between Asgard and Jotunheim in a bout of arrogance. My actions led to my father, Odin, deeming me unworthy of my power and of the burden of the crown I would one day receive. As punishment, he stripped me of all my godly abilities and my command of thunder and lightning, as well as my weapon, Mjolnir. He cast me out of Asgard, sending me here unto Midgard. He made me mortal and human as a punishment for my actions, and I have lived with it for three years."

"So you've been masquerading as a critically acclaimed astrophysicist and professor all these years?" Pym asked with shock. "All those times I've met you and we've discussed our fields…"

"...You're not really an actual professor in astrophysics?" Peter asked, tilting his head.

"No, I'm not, Spider-Man. Donald Blake is just a persona created for me by Jane here, after she helped establish a new life here. Everything I've ever taught or offered to the scientific community was simply what I know to be true about what you call wormholes. The Asgardians call it the Bifrost. If it is any form of consolation, my relationship with Jane is real." At that, Jane just facepalmed.

"...My entire thesis may have been a lie…"

"Are you kidding me?!" Carol replied in exasperation. "Manhattan is being destroyed and _that's_ what you're worried about?!"

"Excuse me," Pietro called out, getting everyone's attention. "In case you all forgot, we are in a war, remember? Are we seriously arguing about this?! Weren't we going to go after Loki and his army, and save Wanda?!"

"If you're going to go after him," Blake replied, "then I'm coming with you!"

"Yeah, I don't think that's a good idea," Jan replied with skepticism.

"He knows things about Loki," Hank argued. "He may actually be useful."

"And we're just supposed to take his word for everything he says, Hank?" Stark replied. "Seriously? A thirty something year old guy claiming to be brothers of a supposed god? That doesn't seem fishy to you?! I'll admit to the Norse myth aspects, but we have no idea if what he's saying about everything else, namely being Loki's brother, is true! Hell, he could even be _in league_ with Loki!"

"How _are_ we to believe what you're saying, Dr. Blake...or Thor?" Carol asked with a frown.

"Because I can tell you that it's the truth," Jane interjected, bringing all attention to her. "I was there when he arrived on Earth, down in New Mexico north of Puente Antiguo. I was doing some field research with my intern and old college professor when a wormhole suddenly appeared in the skies, shooting down to the Earth. It left a set of weird runes burned into the sand, but we were focused on Thor. He was babbling about Asgard and stuff. He thought he was crazy and took him to a hospital, but he almost broke out and trashed the place, so he had to take him out. He wanted to go back home, but when I offered him a ride, he said I couldn't take him there. He didn't have any place to go, so I let him stay with us. He had some amazing knowledge on wormhole theory, sure, but he'd just keep going on about Asgard and stuff. My old professor tied it to Norse mythology. Then it all kind of started coming together after a while, and comparing what Thor would talk about and what my professor knew, well...I don't know, it just...made sense, with how he acts and everything."

"...yeah, I'm not convinced," Logan said.

"We're not seriously bringing them, are we?" Peter asked.

"Wait, ' _them_?'" Jane asked.

"I ain't watching them," Hulk grunted.

"Ok, let's say we believe you, for argument's sake," Stark said, turning back to Thor and Jane. "Either way, you're still a regular human being at this moment. You're most likely going to end up dead if you're on the battlefield, and yet you want to help us. Why?"

"Because of Loki," Thor answered. "He is a god bent on conquest. He believes it is his right to rule on a throne, and he believes Asgard is rightfully his. He's attempted to conquer it in the past, but has failed each time. He has no regard for anything that will not benefit his will. The Enchantress and the Executioner help him, but one day he will most likely having no use for them. To him, humanity is less than nothing, and he will not hesitate to slaughter your kind in droves if you resist him. Loki may be the single greatest threat Midgard has faced yet. And though I love Loki as my brother, I won't allow a realm to burn for his satisfaction. Midgard is a home to me now, since I've been banished here. Believe me when I say that your chances of defeating Loki are slim. A number of Midgard's heroes may possibly stand against him, and match him even, but it will mean nothing if Loki is razing the world around you."

Tony was silent, mulling over Thor's words. He looked to his allies, the obvious question in his eyes.

"You're not seriously considering this, are you, Stark?" T'Challa asked.

"It's too risky," Widow added. "Too many unknown variables as it is, and then to account for these two?"

'Sir, I have located Loki's biological signature,' JARVIS suddenly said, the AI catching everyone's attention. 'He is currently located within the northern areas of Central Park. Two other similar biological signatures have been located there, as is the mutant biological signature of the Scarlet Witch. There are also a vast number of biological signatures of the invading creatures in their immediate vicinity, however, and there are large numbers amassing towards them as well.'

'Well, there's some pretty bad odds," Stark mused to himself aloud, assessing the options before them in his mind. After a moment, he glanced back at his allies, then turned back to the acclaimed scientist proclaiming himself a deity. He didn't say a word, simply arching an eyebrow at him.

"I can help you all, Iron Man," Thor said. "Will you let me?"

* * *

 ***SHIELD Helicarrier UNN** _ **Archangel**_ **. 1800ft above sea level. Atlantic Ocean***

 **1648 GMT/7:48 PM GFT, 4 May 2012**

* * *

"So you're really going to put your trust in a group of superpowered vigilantes? Just like that, without any other motion to expand your efforts?"

"You're willing to risk containing this invasion and the security of the world by doing this, Director Fury?"

"That's currently our best option, Council," Fury retorted, folding his arms. On the two screens on his Director's Stand, eleven sub screens were visible, each connected to the Helicarrier's feed via advanced video conferencing technology. Each one held the face of a member of the United Nations' World Security Council, the political head of SHIELD. The members were chosen from the nations of the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, Japan, China, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, India, Israel and Egypt. Each of them was located in various parts of the globe. More times than not, they were critical and somewhat opposed to Fury's methods since he became director in 2000. This was one of those times.

"Director Fury," Councilwoman Esther Bat-Seraph of Israel said, frowning. "You are the man in charge of the planet's foremost security and peacekeeping organization, and you're saying that this is the best option?"

"We have no understanding of motive, purpose or reason of this invasion," Fury replied. "We have no idea what's going on other that the fact that these creatures are causing massive destruction all across Manhattan. The entirety of the island is in chaos, and defense forces are responding accordingly, but that's just that. This union is currently the only organized force in the entirety of Manhattan that has actually managed to learn anything of significant use since this invasion began."

"You do realize that one of those 'heroes' is a prisoner under SHIELD custody, correct?" Japanese Councilman Takuya Furukawa asked. "As well as being transferred into American custody?"

"Yes, I do," Fury replied. "A point I was very vocal against. You know what Ross' intentions are." He brought up a virtual satellite feed of the island of Manhattan. "Speaking of Ross, American military forces, the local police, and all SHIELD and SWORD agents on the ground are under coordination, under Sub-Commander Coulson's command. S.T.R.I.K.E. agents have arrived on scene, as well as forces from the Swamp, Providence and Triskelion bases. Coulson is in charge of coordinating defense efforts. As they engage the bulk of the invaders, this team will focus their efforts on the ones leading this invasion, with support from the Warriors on scene."

"Director Fury," French Councilman Hugo Etherlinck said. "The Council has made it clear time and again that we are not in approval of these so-called 'Secret Warriors,' ever since your predecessor began the concept of this black-ops team. We had hoped that your succession would've brought some changes, but after many instances, it seems we were wrong. Though we approve of certain agents such as Barton and Morse, the Council has been vocal against Romanova's addition since 1991. Not to mention the point of adding superhumans and mutants; both you and Hand seem to have some sort of fixation on-"

"Councilman," Fury interrupted, crossing his arms. "The ideas that _former Director_ Victoria Hand brought to SHIELD and their effects on today really don't pertain to the current situation. So if there's a point to all this, then can we-?"

"What Councilman Etherlinck is trying to say, Director," Brazilian Councilwoman Camila Barbosa said, "is that the Council questions your decisions in responding handle this invasion. Given your track-"

"The world is still spinning," Fury retorted. "I'd say that's enough of a track record."

"Is it too hard to look for other options?" the British Councilwoman, Monica Hawley, replied. "Director, you cannot simply put your trust in these individuals and hope for the best!"

"This is the best option we have, Councilwoman."

"You have many other options," Councilman Jung Singh of India retorted. "You just will not accept them. You know very well that SHIELD barely tolerates these superpowered vigilantes-!"

"No, that's the _official_ stance," Fury replied. "I think they're a benefit that SHIELD and SWORD can't bear to be without."

"Director, the Council is making a decision," Councilmen Ahmed Deyab of Egypt said. "We need to consider what will happened if these creatures breach the perimeter that you have established around Manhattan. Reports have confirmed that a number have attempted to cross the bridges and tunnels. The spread of this invasion must be halted here and now, Director Fury. We must strike at the source."

"And how do you propose I do that, Councilman Deyab?"

"Each of the Helicarriers are each equipped for such capabilities. The _Archangel_ has two intercontinental ballistic missiles that can be-"

"No."

"Director," the Chinese Councilman, Yen Zhao, said. "By the order of the Council, that jet is to be scrambled-!"

"That is the island of Manhattan, Councilman!" Fury yelled angrily. "There are still millions of people down there! There are SHIELD personnel on the ground, our people, as well as American defense forces! I will _not_ order a nuclear strike against a civilian population. That is non-negotiable."

"Not to mention that I highly doubt the President will approve of the United Nations nuking America's greatest city," the American Councilman, Alexander Pierce, interjected. "I motion for the nuclear option to be denied. However, I can't completely confirm that President Cooper will hold out on nuclear options for long. There are other methods that have to be explored, Fury. Perhaps the Insight satellite tracking programs can be used-"

"Those satellites are specifically designed for Project: Insight, Councilman," Fury replied, "which is still in the developing stages."

"There is one other option," Councilman Saad Ganim of Saudi Arabia said. "The ARC Cannon."

Fury arched an eyebrow. "The ARC Cannon?"

"The force of a nuclear weapon concentrated into a singular blast. All without the fallout radiation a traditional nuclear weapon would give. Stark Industries' only and final greatest military achievement since the arrival of Iron Man."

"Yeah, it doesn't have any radiation fallout, but it is still a very destructive weapon. The ARC Cannon is supposed to be a last resort weapon, Council. And we are not out of options."

"Director Fury-" Councilman Pierce began.

"Council, I'd like to return to the important matter at hand: saving Manhattan and the world from the destruction of a mad man. Goodbye." And with that, Fury shut the feed off, returning his concentration to the incoming data streams.

* * *

 ***Central Park, Manhattan, New York City***

 **1252 GMT/5:52 PM EST, 4 May 2012**

* * *

With an explosive puff of green smoke, the Destroyer appeared the Enchantress, whose hands ceased glowing with magical energy. "The fact that one of them can so easily stand against the Destroyer is of concern," Amora stated as she turned to Loki. "That instantly removes our greatest weapon from our advantage."

"But we have other advantages," the Trickster smirked. "Their most dangerous asset is now under our power, and will soon no longer be a threat. Their brutish monster can be handled by the Executioner, and we have hundreds of Jotun at our disposal, now that Ymir has summoned them and more, as well as our new lackeys. Besides, we have the advantage of numbers. Remember, Amora, these mortals are such frail and fragile beings."

"Not all of them, as we saw."

"That is true yes. A few of them do match us in pure...well, strength. But what they lack is the skill we possess, our prowess and magical superiority, as well as our other...abilities." Loki smiled as his hand began to glow. A soft green hue enveloped his body briefly before it disappeared, the Trickster's eyes taking a brief glow. Loki, without any aid, was already a physically powerful being, a fact he knew. He was much stronger than an average Asgardian male. But by magical means, he was also able to greatly enhance his physical strength to new heights for a period of time. It was how he could physically match his oaf of a brother on many an occasion when they clashed.

It was how he matched the two most physically powerful of their enemies. It was a surprise to him at first that they were quite powerful, more so when the half breed absorbed the power of the Destroyer. But his magical enhancements had been more than enough to have him match them. If there were others on Midgard who could do the same, Loki would be ready for them as well.

Loki then turned back to the Scarlet Witch, who was still cringing in pain, Loki's spells attempting to rip her hex magics out of her having been excruciatingly painful and overwhelming to her. Somehow, she had resisted all his efforts, but it was a heavy toll on her physically. She still floated above the ground, her feet bound and her hands ensnared in magical spheres.

"You should consider yourself lucky, mortal," Loki smirked. "You have a front row seat for this spectacle. You will witness firsthand how I secure my reign of this realm, and how I defeat its so-called heroes and champions."

"No…not yet…" Wanda panted hoarsely, pain coursing through her body. "You haven't won yet."

"My victory is quite assured already," Loki smiled tauntingly. "I have advantage of numbers. My magics are more than enough to subdue them. Your allies were unable to defeat me at their strongest. Your city burns in the background. I have millennia to find a way to strip your power. Where is my disadvantage?"

"We…we…"

"We what?" Loki taunted.

"We…" Wanda lifted her head, her eyes looking to the skies. She then gave a small smile, looking back at Loki. "We...have a Hulk."

Loki frowned. Why did that word sound so vaguely familiar? "...A Hulk?"

"HULK SMASH PUNY GOD!"

 **FRAKABOOOOOOM!**

The invaders didn't even have time to register the words as the ground seemingly exploded. The Incredible Hulk landed onto the scene, seemingly out of nowhere. He had landed right on top of Loki, creating a deep crater in the ground as a result of the impact, which resonated for miles. The seismic shockwave managed to send many of the Jotun, the Enchantress, the Executioner and the four human supervillains flying back. Hulk paid no attention to this, however; all he was focused on was landing haymaker after haymaker on Loki's face and torso. Engulfed by the rage and anger, the Hulk and Bruce Banner worked as one conscious to deliver the blows to Loki. Suddenly, a flash of green light burst out as the Hulk staggered back, struck by a magical blast.

"YOU DARE STRIKE A GOD, YOU DULL CREATURE!" Loki roared, his helmet fallen off and his scepter on the ground at his feet, both his hands glowing with magical energy.

Hulk simply roared back and threw a powerful fist forward. Loki quickly teleported out of the way, the blow striking the ground. Loki reappeared behind Hulk and shot another blast at him. Hulk retaliated by backhanding Loki, sending him crashing into a nearby boulder formation.

"FALL, BEAST!" Executioner roared as he leapt at the Hulk with his ax in hand, landing a vicious swing and leaving nasty slash on the Hulk's chest. The Hulk roared in both pain and rage, smashing Skurge into the ground.

"JOTUN!" Ymir roared. "SLAY THIS CREATURE!" At that, the Frost Giants roared in fury and charged to attack. Before the Hulk could react, though, a bombardment of powerful energy blasts reigned down from the skies, striking the Jotun and making them scream and roar in pain, a number of them collapsing onto the ground.

"They're here!" Wrecker exclaimed as he, Piledriver, Thunderball and Bulldozer got back to their feet, quickly readying themselves.

Sure enough, the rest of the heroes had arrived. Iron Man, Captain Marvel, Wasp, Yellowjacket and Spider Woman came zooming down from the skies; while Hawkeye, Black Widow, Mockingbird, Spider-Man, Black Panther, Quicksilver and Wolverine came charging on the ground. Jane Foster and Thor had been carried by Peter and Pietro.

"Alright, remember the plan, everyone!" Stark yelled. "Hulk will stick on Crazy Axeman! Captain Marvel, on the Destroyer! Wolverine, Hank, Spider Woman and Wasp on their four goons! Spider-Man, on the green lady! Quicksilver, on Loki! I take the blue bastards' leader! The rest of you, take the rest of them down!" Landing onto the ground, his repulsors on full blast, he quickly turned to Jane and Thor. "Ok you two, things are about to get pretty crazy, pretty fast. Both of you find cover and stay out of harm's way."

"Yeah, I think that sounds like a good idea," Jane agreed instantly.

"But-" Thor tried to argue.

"Don't argue!" Stark said. "Bringing you both here was an insane enough idea as it is. I'm not sure what the hell I was thinking! Even if you are who you say you are, you're definitely in no condition to go up against these guys. If we need you, we need you, but right now it's too dangerous for you!" With that, he took off back into the skies, leaving no room for argument as Jane pulled Thor away, both racing for a nearby boulder formation as cover.

"Destroyer!" Loki called out as he got up from the ground, his scepter back in hand and his helmet being put back on his head. At his voice, the metallic juggernaut immediately rumbled back to life. Instead of using its vicious energy blast, though, it simply ripped another boulder formation from the ground. It threw it at an oncoming Captain Marvel, who blasted it to pieces. She then slammed her whole body into it, her strength and energy still heavily augmented by the last blast she had absorbed. The Destroyer retaliated by grabbing her and slamming her into the ground, then pounding its foot into her face. Carol quickly struck back with a duo photon blast.

"C'mon, hit me with that blast of yours! Make this interesting!"

Loki quickly turned to the mutant sorceress imprisoned in the air, and made to strike her with another spell, but he didn't succeed. He was instead slammed in the face by a punch he never saw coming that came at lightning speeds. Loki staggered to the side several steps, only to be struck again three more times. Each was strengthened by pure momentum and force. Loki grunted loudly in pain as Quicksilver appear as if out of thin air before, standing as if ready to attack again.

"You kidnapped my sister," Quicksilver snarled, "try to steal her powers and hurt her...and you did not see that coming?"

Loki's response was to blast him with his scepter. Quicksilver, however, easily blurred out of the way, striking Loki from behind with a barrage of punches. Loki managed to successfully backhand him, sending him crashing into the ground. "You're too confident in your own abilities, speedster," the Trickster smirked.

"…Pietro…" Wanda called out, her voice hoarse. Pietro didn't hear her, too busy engaging Loki.

Amora, meanwhile, made to unleash a potent wave of magical energy at the heroes, only to be struck in the face with a shot of webbing. "AHH! What is the meaning-?! What is this disgusting thing?!" she yelled out as she tried ripping it off her face.

"Wow, you must be crazy, lady," Peter quipped as he fired another two shots of webbing at her arms. "Seriously, an all-green outfit?! Lady, you don't have any fashion sense at all!...Then again, I'm not one to talk; I mean, look at me! Then again, I least I have the dignity of saying I never wore any red and blue lipstick!"

"Be silent!" Amora yelled in anger, trying to shoot him with another blast. This new arrival, he irked her immensely! Spider-Man, however, easily dodged the attack and shot more webbing at her hands, covering them. Before Amora could react, Peter flung her into the ground with more webbing.

"If it's any consolation, this hurts me just as much as it hurts you! My uncle taught me not to hit a lady, after all!"

Iron Man was busy fighting Ymir. His repulsors and uni-beam were working overtime as he continuously struck the Frost Giant king. Ymir succeeded in landing a number of blows himself on the armored hero, with Stark managing to shield himself from some of them.

Wolverine continuously slashed away at a furious Wrecker, easily evading the brute's hits while drawing blood. Yellowjacket wrestled with Piledriver, as Wasp shifted between small and large sizes fighting Bulldozer. Spider Woman was running circles around Thunderball, her pheromones dazing and confusing him as she struck with close quarters strikes and venom blasts.

Hawkeye, Mockingbird, Black Widow and Black Panther, meanwhile, were deep within the Jotun horde, fighting with vengeance. Hawkeye was now using recovered arrows from previous targets with his reserve sets of arrow heads. Mockingbird utilized a combination of guerrilla tactics and agility, striking fast and hard at the Frost Giants' vulnerable joints. Widow had long ago used up her ammo for her M27, and now simply used her KGB, Red Room and SHIELD training to fight, her stingers on rapid fire. Panther had used up all his daggers, his last two now combined into a dual blades staff soaked with Jotun blood. His cape had been torn apart by now, and he discarded it for better combat leverage.

Hulk continued to battle the Executioner, Captain Marvel kept fighting the Destroyer, and Quicksilver continued his high-speed assault on Loki.

All this was witnessed by Thor and Jane from their position of cover. Jane was quite frankly terrified; before her eyes, actual gods were waging war against the Earth for conquest and destruction. The only ones able to stand in their way were 14 of the world's heroes, and one of them was their prisoner. From what her boyfriend had told her, the Asgardian rogues were some of the greatest threats Asgard and the other realms had faced in all of time. Loki had almost at one point managed to overthrow Thor's father. From those stories, she found herself actually doubting the abilities of Earth's heroes fighting off such odds, a being like Loki, and win.

Thor meanwhile, was in awe at the scene before him. In his time spent on Earth, living with mortals, he had come to see that mankind had a spirit of resistance inside them, one that refused to let them fall to their knee without surrender. Before him, some of the greatest protectors of Midgard had united as one to fight off an enemy that could easily defeat them, and yet they were unwilling to surrender. Thor knew that there were many heroes on Midgard across the globe, and he was always marveled by their compassion and heroism. They would truly make fine warriors if they were of Asgard.

They were not the only ones watching the heavy battle.

* * *

 ***SHIELD Helicarrier UNN** _ **Archangel**_ **. 1800ft above sea level. Atlantic Ocean***

 **1500 GMT/7:00 PM AST, 4 May 2012**

* * *

" _-live over Central Park, where large hordes of the creatures-!"_

" _-speculation that they may be somehow tied to this invasion, but no word-"_

" _-including Iron Man, Spider-Man, Captain Marvel and both Yellow-"_

" _-Hulk fighting alongside-"_

" _-no word from the military relating-"_

" _-largest numbers converging into Central Park-!"_

"Coulson, come in," Fury said into his comm. "What's your location?"

" _Somewhere over Greenwich Village,"_ Coulson's voice replied. _"We managed to secure a group of civilians, about 100. We're stilling engaged with these aliens. But, Boss, I got to tell you; more of these things are popping out from these portals or whatever, but it looks like there's a bit fewer-"_

"Yeah, because they're converging more numbers in Central Park. The Warriors and the other heroes are fighting the ones in charge of the invasion there. There are news choppers above Central Park broadcasting it to the world, and the numbers aren't looking good at all. Get a helo squadron over the skies there and give them hell. News choppers are still in the area, so mind the shots."

" _Got it, Boss,"_ Coulson confirmed before cutting the connection.

Fury looked again at the satellite feeds on his screens. The odds didn't look favorable for the heroes right now...

* * *

 ***Central Park, Manhattan, New York City***

 **1302 GMT/6:02 PM EST, 4 May 2012**

* * *

Loki sneered as he grabbed Pietro by the throat. "Stop fighting the inevitable and submit, worm. You may try all you want, but you cannot defeat your god and master!"

At that, he unceremoniously threw the mutant to where the Scarlet Witch was still dangling as his prisoner. His body suit was ripped and burned in various places, thanks to Loki's blasts and daggers. "No matter how hard you fight, I have all the advantage," Loki smirked, standing over Pietro. "There is nothing you can do to stop me. All of you mortals combined could do nothing against me, and you think you alone can stand against me?!"

"Perhaps not," Pietro retorted, struggling to get up to face Loki again. "But I will not surrender to the likes of you. Not as long as I breathe." At that, he again zoomed right at Loki, successfully landing a punch. Loki, however, then grabbed him by the am and snapped it, making the mutant speedster cream in pain. Loki casually tossed him to the ground, Pietro landing on his broken arm, making him yell even more. Loki then walked over to him, placing his boot on his chest.

"That is easily fixed," Loki sneered tauntingly as he gripped his scepter, raising it as it began glowing from its jewel, making to impale Pietro. "If you wish to die by my hand, then so be it!"

Wanda watched in horror as everything seemed to slow down in front of her. Loki's scepter came closer to her brother, the points sharp and ready to impale him. She heard herself scream, but she could do nothing to stop, not from where she was, not as she was. In those precious seconds, she felt helpless and useless, and she could do nothing but watch as her brother was murdered right before her eyes.

It couldn't be.

"PIETRO!"

And it wouldn't.

The spheres of magical energy enveloping her hands began glowing brightly. Instead of green, however, they began glowing a vibrant pink and scarlet. Wanda's eyes then also began glowing bright pink as she began to scream. The spheres grew brighter and brighter, catching Loki and Pietro's attention, the deity freezing at the sight. The spheres then began shining at extremely bright levels, catching the attention of many of the combatants.

"Wanda!" Pietro called out.

"What the Hel-?" Loki began to say.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

 **FRASCREEEAAAOOOOW!**

With a deafening explosion, the magical energy binding the Scarlet Witch dissipated, overwhelmed by a sheer overload of Wanda's hex magics. The sheer build-up exploded violently in all directions, sending out shockwave ripples. Loki was sent flying, caught in the explosive blast and ripples, crashing into a boulder formation almost 100 meters away. Pietro, however, was surprisingly spared being hit by the resulting effects of the explosion.

"Holy shit!" Logan exclaimed.

"Are the twins ok?!" Jan called out.

"Yeah, I see them!" Spider-Man replied, pointing.

Wanda was finally free from her bonds under Loki's magic. No longer bound by anything, she came collapsing down onto the ground, overwhelmed with exhaustion, onto a panting Quicksilver.

"Wanda!" he exclaimed as he took her into his good arm. "Wanda, are you ok?!"

"Pietro…Yes…I am fine...I didn't know...I didn't know I could do-"

"YOU FOOLS!" Loki roared as he got back to his feet, hands aglow with magical energy. His armor was singed and burned, black in a number of areas, and there were scorch marks on his face and across his armor. Nonetheless, rage and arrogance were written across his face. "You think THIS will guarantee your victory against me?! I am a GOD! I cannot be defeated by mere mortals!"

He then fired a blast of magic at the twins, with Pietro barely able to carry Wanda out of the way. This didn't stop Loki, though, as he then teleported into the thick of the battle and unleashed a surging wave of magical force, sending the heroes flying back. He then fired a blast of energy at Spider-Man, forcing him to dodge away but at the cost of Loki striking Spider Woman instead.

"Fall back!" Natalia yelled out. "Fall back!" She, Barton, Bobbi and T'Challa barely managed to avoid Loki's attacks. Jan and Hank quickly shrunk to minute sizes to evade being hit.

"You cannot stand against me! Midgard will be mine to rule!" Loki cackled.

"I must stop him," Thor decided, and made to head into the battle, only for Jane to pull him back.

"Thor, you're crazy, you can't go out there!" she implored. "You're as killable as the rest of us humans! You don't have any powers or weapons or anything! You'll be killed!"

"This world will be killed if no one stops him!" Thor countered, pulling his arm out of her grasp. "Jane, I need to reason with him, I know that the brother I grew up with is still in there. I have to try!" And ignoring the rest of his lover's pleas, Thor ran right into the heat of the battle.

"Thor, what are you doing?!" Hawkeye yelled as he and Mockingbird saw Thor run towards them. "You're going to get yourself killed!"

"I can try to reason with Loki!"

"You said he's beyond reason!" Bobbi exclaimed.

"He is my brother, I must try!" Thor countered. The two SHIELD agents would've argued more, but they had to push Thor out of the way before he was crushed by a Frost Giant. It had been struck by Thunderball being thrown at it by an enlarged Wasp.

"Thor, what are you doing here?!" Jan exclaimed as she shrank down to her typical Wasp size, flying next to Thor. "You're going to get yourself-!"

"Yes, I've been warned already!" Thor retorted. "I need to get to Loki! I may be the only one to be able to try and reason with him!"

"I thought you said he was-!"

"I know what I said, but I need to try! Now, can you get me closer?!"

"I'm going to regret this…" Jan muttered. She then grew to 15ft in height and picked up Thor. "Hang on!" And with that, Wasp began heading to where Loki was, knocking Frost Giants aside with powerful punches as she got closer and closer to Loki.

Iron Man had managed to break away from Ymir and was now engaging the Trickster. Stark was unleashing everything in his arsenal, but Loki dished back just as much. The armored billionaire came in to deliver a metallic haymaker, but Loki has simply erected a magical shield to protect himself. As Stark tried to hit him again, Loki sidestepped the blow and grabbed the metallic arm, throwing Stark into the skies.

Turning and looking up, he saw Wasp heading his way. With a sneer, he a fired a magic blast at her and hit her right in the shoulder. The impact burned Jan as she let out a painful scream and collapsed onto the ground in agony. Thor managed to jump out of her hands and landed near Loki, who was blocking a repulsor blast from Iron Man with a magical shield.

"Loki! Stop this madness!"

"Thor?!" Loki exclaimed with genuine shock. This only lasted for several moments before he formed an amused smirk on his face. Within another moment, he was chuckling. "What a delightful surprise! Please, allow me to prepare a proper reception." At that, he turned towards the rest of the fighting. "CEASE, MY LOYAL FOLLOWERS! CEASE YOUR FIGHTING!"

At Loki's command, the Jotun, Amora, Executioner, the Destroyer, Wrecker, Piledriver, Thunderball and Bulldozer stopped their fighting, albeit they were confused as to why. The heroes were also surprised as to why their enemies suddenly stopped fighting…until they all saw Thor standing before Loki.

"By the All-Father," Amora gasped in surprise. "Is that-?"

"Thor, what the hell are you doing?!" Stark exclaimed.

"Yer gonna get yerself fu-!" Logan began.

"Yes, I have understood that I may get killed!" Thor yelled back.

"Killed, brother?" Loki chuckled in amusement. "Thor, Thor…I would never kill you. I would simply enslave you and force you to witness my rise to power as I conquer the realms."

"Loki, this is madness," Thor replied, raising his arms towards Loki. "This is not what a ruler would do! A ruler would not destroy the kingdom he wants! Our father-!"

"YOUR father," Loki snapped back, his smirk replaced by a look of anger. "You know of my true heritage, Odinson. Why do you even bother continue to pretend we are brothers?"

"We may have different mothers, Loki, but we were raised by the same man," Thor continued, walking closer to his adopted brother. "We grew up together, played together and fought together! We are loved by the same woman who took us as her own sons; does none of this mean anything to you? Does my word not mean anything to you?! Odin's words?! He instilled in us the teachings of a ruler! Do you not remember!?"

"I remember a shadow," Loki snapped. "I remember living in shade, the shade of your greatness…the greatness _your_ father never bothered to give to me. Raising us both, making me believe I could be a king as you could. It was all a lie, Thor! You were always the favorite! You were the one who was destined to be king! I…I was not to be anything! Do you have any idea of how devastated I was to learn I was never to be your equal?!"

"Talk about family issues…" Peter muttered to Jess, who sighed and nodded in agreement.

"And so you think because of that, you can simply claim another realm as your own kingdom?" Thor asked. "You think yourself superior to mankind?"

"I do. I should be a king!" Loki replied angrily.

"So you take the world I love as recompense for your imagined slights?"

"The humans slaughter each other in droves…they court chaos. I mean to rule them, and why should I not?"

"You think yourself above them?"

"We were their gods, Thor! We _are_ above them! I _am_ above them!"

"Then a throne would suit you ill, brother. You miss the truth and reason of ruling."

"Says the prince who unleashed war against Jotunheim."

"I was foolish-!"

"And I am a king in the making!" Loki yelled, gripping his scepter. "I am taking my rightful place in the Asgardian Realms! I am Midgard's lord and ruler!"

"No, you are its destroyer!" Thor implored as he reached Loki and grabbed his shoulders. "You cannot be a king, not like this! You need to give up this dream of yours, Loki…you are my brother. I wish you no ill will, but this desire to rule blinds you, consumes you. You must stop surrendering yourself to madness…you need to wake up…return home. I know you can turn this around, brother, if you just allow yourself to. We are still family, and even if you seem to be beyond saving…I will always have that hope that one day, you may be saved. Please Loki…leave Midgard and trouble it no more."

Loki stared at Thor, eyes wide in surprise. Silence rang out between them for almost half a minute. The rest of the heroes waited in shock and baited breath, as did Loki's forces. Jane waited with fear from where she hid. The only sounds came from the distance, from the war waged across Manhattan.

"...You really believe I may possibly change my ways?" Loki asked with skepticism. "That I can simply…return to who I was in our young age and be a true brother and son?"

"I do, brother," Thor said, a smile etching onto his face. "I believe that deep down, my brother is still inside there, Loki. This madness would not stop with your rule. You may learn to love Midgard, as I do. Please…end your war."

The two simply stood there. The heroes stared on, as did Loki's followers. Was this really happening?

"You risk your life, now that you are mortal," Loki said slowly, "to attempt and save these mortals and their world. To do anything to ensure this world is protected, even be ready to give your life. Why?"

"Because Midgard has become my second home," Thor replied. "I have grown to love it, and I would do anything for this realm. I would gladly give my life to help mankind, and to help Midgard. That is how much I love this realm, and its inhabitants."

Loki remained still and silent. Thor began to smile a bit. He believed he may have finally gotten through to Loki.

At least, he did until he yelled in pain as one of Loki's daggers suddenly embedded itself into his chest, making him yell in pain.

"NO!" Jane yelled in horror.

"THOR!" Stark yelled in shock.

"Sentiment," Loki smirked with a sinister glint in his eyes. "A useful distraction. And to think, you actually approached me in a mortal form…" And with that, he backhanded Thor with the godly strength he possessed, sending him flying through the air and slamming into one of the boulder formations that had been thrown in the battle. Thor hit the rock with a sickening crack, and crashed into the ground, bloody and unmoving.

"THOR!" Jane yelled in horror as she ran towards where he lay still.

"Now, my loyal armies!" Loki yelled as he began twirling his scepter, devastating lightning bolts of green energy flying out of the jewel at its top. "Now, we shall have our new kingdom and our victory! Today we win Midgard, and tomorrow...all of Yggdrassil!"

The Frost Giants again attacked, a renewed frenzy raging within them. Wasp and Yellowjacket quickly grew to twenty feet and tried to hold them off, but the numbers were vastly against their favor. Across Manhattan, many Jotun still fought the human defense forces and wreaked havoc; but many more had converged onto Central Park, summoned by Ymir.

Hulk was struck again by the Executioner, bringing him back to the problem before him. The Destroyer, meanwhile, struck again at Carol, slamming her into the ground violently and repeatedly.

"There's too many of them!" Jess called out as she began firing her venom blasts at will. "We're being overrun! Someone get some backup over here!"

"Someone, get the woman outta here!" Logan yelled out in response, briefly pointing at Jane as she arrived at Thor's unmoving form. The X-Man quickly then charged headfirst into the incoming horde of Jotun, allowing himself to go completely feral.

Panther quickly acted, dodging and weaving through the battle and chaos to reach Jane. Slashing through the Jotun with his dual-bladed vibranium staff, he successfully managed to reach Jane within less than a minute. "Dr. Foster, you must leave now!" Panther urged, gently attempting to pry her away from Thor's body. Jane refused to let go, however. "You have to get away from here!"

"No, I won't leave him!" Jane yelled, tears cascading from her eyes. She couldn't believe it. He was still bleeding profoundly, but he was no longer breathing. His eyes were cold and empty orbs of death. Thor was gone.

"There is nothing you can do for him now, and he wouldn't want you to die either!" Panther yelled, seeing Jotun coming at their side. Before he could react, a barrage of hex spheres struck at them. Wanda and Pietro blurred into existence beside them. Wanda began unleashing a barrage of hex spheres at the Jotun forcing them back

"I will hold them off! Get her out of here, Your Highness!" the mutant sorceress called out as Pietro sped off to fight off the rest of the Jotun. No sooner did she say this, however, than did she fall to one knee. Exhaustion still taxed her body, but she'd be damned if she couldn't do anything to fight.

"LOKI, YOU SONUVABITCH!" Stark yelled out as he bum rushed the God of Mischief. He slammed the villain savagely into the ground, then fired his uni-beam. "I didn't care if that guy was a god or not, but you just murdered him in cold blood! He was defenseless and you just killed him!"

Loki then fired a blast of magic at the armored hero, the force of impact making him stagger back. "You should care less about the dead, metal man," the Trickster chuckled, "and more about your own demise." Iron Man replied by firing his repulsors, striking Loki and making him stagger back. Stark then made to strike with a punch, but Loki simply teleported right behind him and blasted him again. He then grabbed Stark by his helmet and unleashed a powerful surge of magic, enveloping the helmet and making Stark scream from inside.

The rest of the heroes were overwhelmed by the numbers against them, but that didn't matter. They continued to fight on, even as they realized that they were most likely about to be beaten.

Jane saw this all. She clung to Thor's body, refusing to listen to the Black Panther or let him drag her off of Thor. She was too overwhelmed with grief and shock. Her friend, her dear friend and eventual lover, had died before her eyes. She had known him so much these three years, grown close to him these last three years and had come to love him as he her, and he was just gone. She refused to move, refused to leave. She wouldn't, nor couldn't, leave Thor like this; a part of her still screamed that Thor couldn't have been killed. It just wasn't possible.

Something unexpected then happened. It took a while for Jane to notice it, but she soon did: the war around her, all across Manhattan...was drowning out. The frantic yells of the Black Panther, the roars of the Hulk and the Jotun, the massive explosions and the war cries of the heroes, all of it. They became muffled and dim, and Jane had no idea why. Was it something else Loki was now doing? He was fighting Iron Man, so it couldn't be him...could it?

She then began hearing a voice, one she had never heard before. And yet, for some reason, it sounded as if she should've been familiar with it, as if she should've been waiting for it. She didn't know why it seemed like that. It didn't seem to matter, though; what did matter was that it was ringing in her ears, overcoming her senses and enveloping her body. She simply sat there on her knees, clutching Thor's body through her tears, nothing getting into her ears save for that voice. It seemed to block out the war around her simply with its presence. It sounded so commanding and majestic, and only she could hear it.

She didn't know why, but she listened to what it said, and she soon learned that somehow, it all tied to her and the body of the man she was clutching.

' _Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy...shall possess the power of Thor!'_

* * *

 ***New Mexican Desert. 42 miles north of Puente Antiguo, New Mexico***

 **1117 GMT/4:17 PM MST, 4 May 2012**

* * *

"Sir...we're getting spikes in our readings."

"What?" the base commander replied in shock. The other three scientists quickly came over to him, surprise on their faces.

"Yes, here," the SHIELD scientist replied. Pointing to the screens in front of him as the commander came over, he continued. "The energy levels spiked here, literally seconds ago."

"Is that a good thing, Flumm?"

"...sir, this is the most activity recorded since we discovered it. I have no idea." The screens then suddenly began crackling with static, the data charts and energy readings fluctuating rapidly, much to the shock of the commander and scientists. "Ok, I take that back; this may be a bad thing…"

"Commander Blank!" another SHIELD agent called as he entered the computer and data stream truck. "The boys in the pit are saying they're getting new readings on the 0-8-4! Their G-Counters are spiking pretty high, sir!"

Commander Blank swore to himself, unsure of what to do. The 0-8-4 they had been studying the last three years had been inactive, showing no signs of activity. Now all of a sudden, it was, and he had no idea what to do. They couldn't even move the damn thing! Commander Blank followed the agent out towards and into the large compound they had erected around the 0-8-4. The compound itself was in a crater almost 60 meters wide and more than 50 ft deep. Climbing onto the observation platform, Blank could see a number of the SHIELD scientists in white radiologist suits cautiously trying to scan the 0-8-4 that was the bane of the existence to all the SHIELD staff present: a hammer. A block of unknown metal with a loop on its handle, sitting on a small rock pillar. In three years, no one had been able to move it, manually or technologically. Every few minutes, a text would appear on its side in a language that had been determined as a vague offshoot of ancient Nordic and Germanic languages.

To Blank's utter shock, a low whining sound was now coming from the hammer.

"Gusteau, talk to me!"

A brunette woman looked up to the platform in response. "The energy spikes just appeared out of nowhere, Commander. We went from zero to almost 100 on our counters. It seems to be activating somehow, but besides the spikes and the-"

"Ma'am, the whining is getting louder!" one of the other scientists called out. Sure enough, the whining was getting louder slowly, but surely. The scientists found themselves unsettled, and the SHIELD agents outside the experimental zone, grew antsy, with a number running back and forth across the platforms and walkways.

"Contact the Globemaster," Blank ordered to one of the nearby agents. "I want Agents Fitz and Simmons on screen now and-"

 **CRRRKK!**

All eyes turned to the hammer...or rather, the large crack in the pillar the hammer was resting on.

"What the hell?!" Blank exclaimed.

 **CRRKKK! CRRRKKK!**

More cracks appeared on the pillar, and the pillar itself seemed to be shaking. The hammer began whining even louder, and it appeared as if it was starting to glow an ever so slight shade of blue.

"Get out of there," Blank muttered before yelling. "Gusteau, everyone, out of there, now!" The scientists didn't need to be told again as they quickly got away. More cracks appeared, not just on the pillar but also on the surround ground, and the whining grew sharper and louder. "Cortez, get the tactical teams in here, now! Someone, get the damn fucking Globemaster on the horn and call the-!"

 **FWASSSHEAAOOOMMMM!**

The hammer then suddenly and violently ripped itself from the rock pillar. All eyes looked on in shock as it raced into the skies, flying off in a northeastern direction. It flew farther and farther away, shrinking from sight before disappearing altogether. All the agents didn't move, too shocked at what had just happened before their eyes. After the last three years of basically doing nothing in a desert in the middle of nowhere, they had never expected something like this to happen.

"Sonuva…" Commander Blank soon sighed. He placed his hands on his head in exasperation; he could just hear the voice of the Director yelling off at him. "Cortez...someone...call the Helicarrier _Archangel_ while you're at it. We...may have a bit of a problem."

* * *

 ***Central Park, Manhattan, New York City***

 **1319 GMT/6:19 PM EST, 4 May 2012**

* * *

"We need to retreat!" Hawkeye yelled out. He was down to his last few arrows, but still had a final reserve of arrowheads to use. "There's too damn many of them! We need to get out of here, come back with a fucking army! NOW!"

"I think Hawkeye's right," Jan yelled back, trying her best to hold back a surge of Jotun. "We're getting our asses kicked here!"

"Screw that!" Logan roared. His X-Men uniform was ripped so badly, it was mostly dangling from his torso. He was half covered in Jotun blood, and he was fully engrossed in his berserker rage. "Take as many as them with ya as ya can!"

"Are you crazy, Logan?!" Peter yelled. He was again back-to-back with Jess, both shooting webs and venom blasts at any and all of their enemies. "We're no good to the world dead! They're right, we need to get out of here, get that army and every superhero on the planet-!"

"There is nowhere you can escape, mortal," the Enchantress taunted as she teleported next to the two arachnids. She blasted the Webhead aside, him having been taken by surprise, and grabbed Spider Woman by the throat as she attempted to attack, slowly choking her.

"Looks like we picked the best side, boys," Wrecker laughed as he, Piledriver, Thunderball and Bulldozer watched the chaos before them, watching as the united heroes' efforts to fight back grew more and more disorganized and futile. "I say we just stand back and watch the show. We did good, boys; our reward's coming soon!"

"You just cannot see it, can you?!" Loki laughed, gripping Iron Man by the throat. The billionaire's armor was crackling with green energy, having been struck by an immobility spell blast from Loki. The Trickster then used his other hand to rip Stark's visor from his helmet, revealing his face. "I have won. Victory is mine! I am Midgard's Lord and Master! Nothing you do can stop me!"

"Doctor Foster," T'Challa implored as he began to forcibly pull Jane away from Thor's body. "You need to get away from here, now! The Scarlet Witch may not be able to sustain defending us through her exhaustion!" Wanda had forced herself to keep fighting on, advancing as the Jotun fell back against her hex attacks, but her extreme exhaustion and pain was hurting her as well.

"But…" Jane began to say, only to be interrupted by a series of booming and echoing bursts from the skies above. The sounds could be heard across the entire city, all five boroughs, and across all nearby states, as it had been for half the country within the last couple of dozen seconds. Across Manhattan, the Jotun looked to the skies as the booms grew louder and louder. Even the soldiers, agents, police and superheroes defending the island raised their eyes in shock and uncertainty.

In Central Park, the fighting also simultaneously ceased as the resonating booms continued to grow louder. The heroes' gazes followed the Jotun gazes upwards, as did that of Skurge, Amora and their four superhuman lackeys. Even Loki turned to the skies in surprise, dropping Stark to the ground as he subconsciously gripped his spear tighter. He had cast a plethora of spells to evade the All-Seer. Had he been detected?

Only the Destroyer paid no heed as it kept slamming Carol into the ground.

The source of the nearly ear-popping booms soon came into sight after several more seconds. In the skies, multiple vapor cones could be seen forming, trailing right behind each other. After another second, the source of the vapor cones could be distinguished as a projectile came into view, leading the vapor cones. None of those present could make out what it actually was, but they could easily see that it was hurdling at astonishing speeds towards them, and it was only getting faster. It was going to be crashing into the battlefield in only a few more seconds.

And it was coming right for them...right for Jane, T'Challa and the body of Thor, as all present quickly noticed.

"Quicksilver!" Natalia yelled out in anxiety, but Pietro was already on the move before she finished her yell. Using every bit of speed he could muster, Pietro shot towards Jane and T'Challa. The incoming object was hurdling towards them at blinding speeds, and Pietro feared that he would not make it time. By sheer force of willpower, he forced himself faster, and successfully managed to grab the scientist and monarch with just a second to spare. To the eyes of everyone present, only a blur was seen as both Jane and T'Challa were slammed away from where they had just been crouching as the incoming projectile then struck the ground where Thor's body was-

 **FRAKAKALABOOOOOM!**

A celestial lightning bolt suddenly descended from the skies, engulfing both the projectile and Thor. Bright light engulfed the area and the sounds of millions of electrical volts worth of power crackling rang through the air. The force of impact from the lightning bolt send shockwaves all around.

Pietro was blown off his feet by the shockwaves, sending him, T'Challa and Jane head first into the ground. They looked up and turned in shock, as did the rest of those present, towards the lightning bolt.

The Jotun began roaring in anticipation and fear, recognizing the power that was now being displayed before their eyes.

The Destroyer finally stopped as it turned towards the lightning bolt. Captain Marvel, laying on the ground, groggily and dazedly rose up at the spectacle. Wrecker, Thunderball, Piledriver and Bulldozer looked on in shock, wondering what the hell was going on; they couldn't help but somehow sense that this wasn't going to be anything good for them. The heroes found themselves in awe at the sight before them.

Everyone present, hero and villain, man and otherwise, could see a shape within the lightning bolt. It was Thor, alive and well, standing with something in his hand, his eyes glowing sky blue. The lightning bolt suddenly grew bright and fully engulfed him, obscuring him from view.

"What the hell…?" Stark muttered, overwhelmed with shock and awe.

"By the All-Father…" Amora breathed, her grip slackening on Spider Woman's throat, the heroine collapsing onto the ground. The Asgardian sorceress was overcome with a mixture of dread, joy, fear and passion.

"No…" Loki said in shock and denial. This couldn't be happening, not now. He refused to accept this, it could not be! "No...NO!" Quickly, the God of Mischief turned to him most powerful weapon and follower. "Destroyer!"

At that, the Destroyer began to lumber towards the majestic bolt, each step echoing mightily. As it came closer, its visor opened as it began amassing the devastating energy of its energy blast, soon ready to fire. It never succeeded, however, as something then shot out of the lightning bolt, striking the Destroyer in its head, sending the juggernaut crashing into the ground and sending its blast flying into the skies. The projectile then froze suddenly in midair, and everyone could clearly what it was.

A hammer, crackling with bright blue electricity.

The weapon then flew back towards the lightning bolt, and as it returned, the bolt dispersed in a bright explosion of light. It revealed not the Thor that had just died, but a new man; and yet he was still the same. He wore thick chainmail plate armor that showed off ripped and large muscles and a dark blue & black armored vest covering his torso. He had black metallic gauntlets with red lining on his wrists, and he wore dark blue & black pants with black boots. A dark and red cape billowed from his back, and his hands were encased in the black leather gloves. And one of the hands held the mighty hammer that surged and crackled with electricity. To top it off, on his head of long blonde hair, he wore a dark grey and winged metallic helmet, and his bearded face held a look of fury, justice and determination.

"Oh…my…god," Jane whispered in awe.

The skies roared with celestial might, with lighting dancing in the clouds in tune to the long awaited return of their Lord and Master as he turned towards the God of Mischief.

"Brother. I would have words with thee."

Thor Odinson, the Crown Prince of Asgardian. God of Thunder.

* * *

 _ **XXXXX**_

 _ **TO BE CONTINUED…**_


	8. Another News Update

**Hello, everyone. Reborn Dark Phoenix here (as if you were expecting anyone else, really?). No this isn't an update, sorry. Actually, and I know this will most definitely make more than a few people mad, I've come to a decision.**

 **As you all know (I assume you do, at least), this story was intended as a rewrite of the original "919: Earth's Mightiest Heroes." This was because I felt I could do better with the story if I started over. I liked what I had written thus far, but I wanted to change things to impact later arcs. While I had done some retcons in several of the chapters, I chose to just start from scratch all over again. My other main reason was because I believed that there were just some things I wrote out that just didn't fly well even in comic standards. I also felt I had written myself into a wall with how I handled Doom facing the Avengers and such. So I decided to just go back to the drawing board and make a clean slate.**

 **And that was how Version II came about.**

 **And it didn't go as I thought it would.**

 **Most know I mostly stuck to the same plot for "Assemble!" with some changes there and here. The villains remained the same: Loki, the Enchantress, Executioner, the army of Jotun Frost Giants and the creation of the Wrecking Crew of this continuity. Almost immediately, one of my readers advised me of how this could backfire. We discussed and exchanged opinions and views, and I carried on with my business.**

 **Writing the rewritten Chapter 7, though, showed me how much I've been pushing the limits of my writing out of the characters, and it's led me to a dead end. One I just can't get over or around. In the original chapter, Wanda just did a "No More *insert whatever here*", and that got rid of the Frost Giants. I didn't like that I did that and resolved to do something different here. Unfortunately, I just can't come up with a comic-realistic and believable reason to have the heroes win.** **And looking back, what I wrote my plot to be really didn't help: the army of the Frost Giants being in the thousands, running all over the place and whatnot. That definitely didn't help. I had tried to form a way to have Thor and Wanda work together to have the Jotun forced back to Jotunheim, with the rest of the heroes holding the Giants off, but I had too many of them to fight off.**

 **The Wrecking Crew: having Asgardian level supervillains running around on top of the Rogue Asgardians? It didn't help in the slightest in the scenario I was trying to write out; how could the heroes fend off the Jotun dealing with the Crew at the same time? Yeah, like a good friend on the site told me, I shot myself in the foot there (or hand lol).**

 **I also saw how exaggerated I portrayed the characters' actions waaaaay too much. Seriously, looking back, half of the non-empowered heroes should've been dead by this point, honestly. The numbers they were facing, and a bunch of other stuff...yep, I had no idea what I was thinking. And the plot itself was more than somewhat exaggerated.**

 **Basically, I jumped into this not really knowing where I was going. For that, I apologize to you, my readers. This story rewrite definitely wasn't up to par with what you should expect.**

 **Thanks goes to SnarkyBacterium for helping me recognize I had messed up along the way.**

 **So, all in all, this rewrite wasn't a success and I'm shutting it down.**

 **Now, let me be clear, this doesn't mean "919: Earth's Mightiest Heroes" is a lost cause of mine.**

 **No. It is just now on hiatus until I figure out where I really want to go with this story. I've put a lot of effort into 919, too much to abandon it. If I'm going to do better, I have to make sure I'm going to do better and plan this out right.**

 **Now, I know some of you will be upset with this, but that's how it goes. It will return, so don't lose complete hope.**

 **Now, in regards to the story restarting... I honestly never thought to just post the new first chapter on the original story and delete all the chapters before it, thus restarting from there.** **That's the reason I began Version II as a whole different story. I honestly never thought that I could just do that. I know, a massive fail on my part. But now I know; why is this relevant? I will be re-uploading the future new rewrite on the original story. Now I know that many of those following this version are new readers, so I advise you all to favorite/follow the original, whatever it is that sends you the notifications if that one gets updated or not. That's where I'll be uploading the new rewrite in the future. This version will eventually be deleted, so get to that guys.**

 **Now, on another note. By the time this is uploaded, I'll have posted a poll on my profile page. I really want to hear your opinions, so I urge you to place your votes. I'm considering a new motive for the Avengers to assemble, although I am also wondering if I should stick to using Loki. There are several options I have to chose from, and I want to know what you all would like to see. I already have an idea for two of them, but there are a few choices I want to explore. So, I'd like you all to check out the poll and vote on it, see what could be a great way for the Avengers to assemble. Check it out!**

 **In regards to the roster itself...I may change some of the original roster, or not. Still thinking about it.**

 **That's all for now. Sorry again for the let down, guys.**

 **Until next time, readers, I ask you all to check out my other stories.**

 **RPD**


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